Torture and Dignity
An Essay on Moral Injury
- Contents
- Review Quotes
Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One : History, Phenomenology, and Moral Analysis
One / Abolishing Torture and the Uprising of the Rule of Law
I. Introduction
II. Abolishing Torture: The Dignity of Tormentable Bodies
III. Torture and the Rule of Law: Beccaria
IV. The Beccaria Thesis
V. Forgetting Beccaria
Two / On Being Tortured
I. Introduction
II. Pain: Certainty and Separateness
III. Améry’s Torture
IV. Pain’s Aversiveness
V. Pain: Feeling or Reason?
VI. Sovereignty: Pain and the Other
VII. Without Borders: Loss of Trust in the World
Three / The Harm of Rape, The Harm of Torture
I. Introduction: Rape and/as Torture
II. Moral Injury as Appearance
III. Moral Injury as Actual: Bodily Persons
IV. On Being Raped
V. Exploiting the Moral Ontology of the Body: Rape
VI. Exploiting the Moral Ontology of the Body: Torture
Part Two : Constructing Moral Dignity
Four / To Be Is to Live, to Be Is to Be Recognized
I. Introduction
II. To Be Is to Be Recognized
III. Risk and the Necessity of Life for Self-Consciousness
IV. Being and Having a Body
V. From Life to Recognition
Five / Trust as Mutual Recognition
I. Introduction
II. The Necessity, Pervasiveness, and Invisibility of Trust
III. Trust’s Priority over Reason
IV. Trust in a Developmental Setting
V. On First Love: Trust as the Recognition of Intrinsic Worth
Six / “My Body . . . My Physical and Metaphysical Dignity”
I. Why Dignity?
II. From Nuremberg to Treblinka: The Fate of the Unlovable
III. Without Rights, without Dignity: From Humiliation to Devastation
IV. Dignity and the Human Form
V. The Body without Dignity
VI. My Body: Voluntary and Involuntary
VII. Bodily Revolt: Respect, Self-Respect, and Dignity
Concluding Remarks : On Moral Alienation
I. The Abolition of Torture and Utilitarian Fantasies
II. Moral Alienation and the Persistence of Rape
Notes
Index
Introduction
Part One : History, Phenomenology, and Moral Analysis
One / Abolishing Torture and the Uprising of the Rule of Law
I. Introduction
II. Abolishing Torture: The Dignity of Tormentable Bodies
III. Torture and the Rule of Law: Beccaria
IV. The Beccaria Thesis
V. Forgetting Beccaria
Two / On Being Tortured
I. Introduction
II. Pain: Certainty and Separateness
III. Améry’s Torture
IV. Pain’s Aversiveness
V. Pain: Feeling or Reason?
VI. Sovereignty: Pain and the Other
VII. Without Borders: Loss of Trust in the World
Three / The Harm of Rape, The Harm of Torture
I. Introduction: Rape and/as Torture
II. Moral Injury as Appearance
III. Moral Injury as Actual: Bodily Persons
IV. On Being Raped
V. Exploiting the Moral Ontology of the Body: Rape
VI. Exploiting the Moral Ontology of the Body: Torture
Part Two : Constructing Moral Dignity
Four / To Be Is to Live, to Be Is to Be Recognized
I. Introduction
II. To Be Is to Be Recognized
III. Risk and the Necessity of Life for Self-Consciousness
IV. Being and Having a Body
V. From Life to Recognition
Five / Trust as Mutual Recognition
I. Introduction
II. The Necessity, Pervasiveness, and Invisibility of Trust
III. Trust’s Priority over Reason
IV. Trust in a Developmental Setting
V. On First Love: Trust as the Recognition of Intrinsic Worth
Six / “My Body . . . My Physical and Metaphysical Dignity”
I. Why Dignity?
II. From Nuremberg to Treblinka: The Fate of the Unlovable
III. Without Rights, without Dignity: From Humiliation to Devastation
IV. Dignity and the Human Form
V. The Body without Dignity
VI. My Body: Voluntary and Involuntary
VII. Bodily Revolt: Respect, Self-Respect, and Dignity
Concluding Remarks : On Moral Alienation
I. The Abolition of Torture and Utilitarian Fantasies
II. Moral Alienation and the Persistence of Rape
Notes
Index
Review Quotes
Robert B. Pippin, author of Interanimations: Receiving Modern German Philosophy
“For many years now Bernstein has been a leading voice in the evolving critical theory tradition, turning out impressive and influential work on Lukács, Adorno, the relation between art and philosophy, and social critique. Torture and Dignity is his most ambitious and systematic book. Taking his bearings from what are the clearest, most unambiguous cases of moral injury—torture and rape—he aims to develop a general account of the nature of moral wrong, and he does so without engaging the conventional (and, he argues, thoroughly misleading and distorting) problem of convincing the moral skeptic to refrain from such harm. What results is a book that is lucidly written, original, passionate, and compelling, with many moments of real brilliance. His ability to develop out of such a ‘negative ethics’ a positive account of our dependence on each other is no less valuable and challenging. The book is a major achievement.”
Linda MartÃn Alcoff, author of The Future of Whiteness
“There is a lot we can learn from topics most of us would rather avoid thinking about. Here, Bernstein does much of the difficult work for us, bringing rape and torture into the general discussions of human dignity, moral injury, and the nature of persons. A much-needed book, and brilliantly argued.”—
Jeremy Waldron, author of Torture, Terror, and Trade-Offs: Philosophy for the White House
“This book has two topics, dignity and torture—each of which has assumed great importance in the last twenty years. Bernstein contrasts torture with the rule of law and human dignity with violation and degradation. I cannot imagine a better account of the affront to dignity posed by the terrible practice of torture.”
Robert Stern, author of Understanding Moral Obligation: Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard
“Torture and Dignity raises a number of important issues in moral philosophy and moral practice in a way that is original and highly engaging. Bernstein is a brilliant writer whose passion and conviction come across vividly and persuasively in a breadth of styles and approaches, which is so unusual in contemporary ethics. In this work we see a philosopher engaged in analysis and argument, but also with literature, phenomenology, memoir, law, the history of ideas, and public policy.”
L. J. Alderink | Choice
"Bernstein (New School for Social Research) presents a strong case for moving ethical inquiry in a new direction... Bernstein's presentation is clear, original, and persuasive... Highly recommended."
Craig Duncan | Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"Bernstein’s moral instincts strike as sound, and his novel ideas pertaining to embodiment, trust, and love — and their relation to dignity — strike as insightful contributions to moral psychology."
Philosophy in Review
“A complex and enigmatic discussion of torture and rape.”
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Philosophy: American Philosophy | Ethics | General Philosophy | Philosophy of Society
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