This book reframes the historical, legal and moral discourse on the question of whether torture can be justified in exceptional circumstances.

David Luban analyzes the torture debate in the struggle against terrorism from a sophisticated philosophical and legal perspective.

"Published with the support of Austrian Science Fund (FWF): PUB 644-G."

This Research Handbook is of great importance in an era where torture, whilst universally condemned, remains endemic. It explores the nature of the international prohibition of torture and the various means and mechanisms which have been put in place by the international community in an attempt to make that prohibition a reality.

This volume brings together key work by the leading political philosopher Henry Shue on the issue of torture, and the moral challenges surrounding the initiation and conduct of war.

Torture doctors invent and oversee techniques to inflict pain and suffering without leaving scars. Their knowledge of the body and its breaking points and their credible authority over death certificates and medical records make them powerful and elusive perpetrators of the crime of torture. In The Torture Doctors, Steven H. Miles fearlessly explores who these physicians are, what they do, how they escape justice, and what can be done to hold them accountable. At least one hundred countries employ torture doctors, including both dictatorships and democracies. While torture doctors mostly act with impunity—protected by governments, medical associations, and licensing boards—Miles shows that a movement has begun to hold these doctors accountable and to return them to their proper role as promoters of health and human rights. Miles’s groundbreaking portrayal exposes the thinking and psychology of these doctors, and his investigation points to how the international human rights community and the medical community can come together to end these atrocities.

We are understandably reluctant to "rank" moral atrocities. What is worse, genocide or terrorism? In this book, Thomas W. Simon argues that politicians use this to manipulate our sense of injustice by exaggerating terrorism and minimizing torture. He advocates for an international criminal code that encourages humanitarian intervention.

INTRODUCTION Paolo Di Lucia and Lorenzo Passerini Glazel, Introduction. Veritas in Dicto, Veritas in Re Amedeo Giovanni Conte, Three Paradigms for a Philosophy of the True: Apophantic Truth, Eidological Truth, Idiological Truth SECTION I. Truth of Language (De Dicto Truth) vs. Truth of Things (De Re Truth) Roberta De Monticelli, Ockham’s Razor, or the Murder of Concreteness. A Vindication of the Unitarian Tradition Richard Davies, Monadic Truth and Falsity Stefano Caputo, One but not the Same Paolo Heritier, True God and True Man: Some Implications SECTION II. Truth of Things and the Normative and Axiological Dimensions of Reality Anna Donise, A Stratified Theory of Value Venanzio Raspa, On Emotional Truth Sergei Talanker, No True Persuasive Definition Marginalizes? Carlos Morujão, Subjective Meanings and Normative Values in Alfred Schutz’s Philosophy of Human Action SECTION III. Truth, Validity, and Normativity Pedro M. S. Alves, A Phenomenological Analysis of the Nomothetic Noema. Discussing the De Dicto and De Re Formulations of Normative Sentences Wojciech Żełaniec, Things We Must Never Do (If Any) Sara Papic, Can Linguistic Correctness Provide Us with Categorical Semantic Norms? Virginia Presi, Custom in Action. Ferdinand Tönnies’ Ontology of the Normative SECTION IV. Truth and Validity in Action: Norm Effectiveness and Nomotropic Behaviour Pascal Richard, Norms as “Intentional Systems” Alba Lojo, The Semantic Conception of Efficacy and Constitutive Rules: Mapping a Tough Relationship Giovanni Bombelli, Normativity, Truth, Validity and Effectiveness. Remarks Starting from the Horizon of the “Common Sense” SECTION V. Further Contributions Caterina Del Sordo and Roberta Lanfredini, Matter at a Crossroads: Givenness vs Forceful Quality Stefano Colloca, On the Deontic Validity of the General Exclusive Norm Alessandro Volpe, Doing Justice to Solidarity: On the Moral Role of Mutual Support