Ticking Time Bomb Scenario: A Debate on the Use of Torture for Information Extraction

The Ticking Time Bomb Scenario is a debate on the use of torture for information extraction. In this scenario, the government or police authorities torture a terrorist or other suspects to get information from them to avert a disaster. The article presents a conversation between three characters discussing the ethical and practical implications of this scenario. They discuss the rightness or wrongness of the action, the danger of misuse of power, and the need for a regulated procedure. The article concludes with a debate on the ethical factor of using torture for information extraction.

Running head: TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
Ticking Time Bomb Scenario
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
Characters
Henry, a 28 years old teacher of English Literature at a college
Lucy, Henry’s sister, 26 years old
Mark, Henry’s friend, 29 years old
All three are in the sitting room of Henry. Henry is reading the novel “Crime and
Punishment” of Fyodor Dostoyevsky while Mark is reading the newspaper. Lucy is reading
the “Cosmopolitan” magazine. Henry closes the book and is brooding over something.
Henry (talking to Mark): Which one do you think is more gruesome spiritual punishment or
physical punishment?
Mark: Me? Well I know nothing about the spiritual punishment but I would certainly say that
physical punishment is truly painful. You know what last week I accidently cut my finger and
it is still paining. Can you suggest me someone good?
Henry: I am being serious here….
Mark: Do I sound like my joking here?
Henry: Leave it. It is no good talking to you. Go back to reading your sports news.
Mark: I am sorry. Tell me. What is it?
Henry: I am reading this particular text by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and this particular novel the
protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov undergoes a severe spiritual punishment o account of his act
of murdering an old lady1. So I was thinking which one is worse-physical or emotional?
1 Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and punishment. Penguin UK, 2014.

2TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
Mark: Well as you know I am not much of a spiritual person so I would say it is physical
punishment.
Lucy (looking up from her magazine): I do not agree with you Mr. Atheist.
Henry: Well, I also agree with Mark on the score that physical punishment is indeed more
painful than spiritual punishment.
Lucy: Well I do not agree with you on this particular brother.
Mark: You have no idea what physical punishment and torture can do to you.
Lucy: And you have no idea what spiritual punishment can do to you.
Henry: Well I have a fair bit of idea what physical punishment can do to you. Yesterday I
came across a newspaper article which was talking about the “ticking time bomb scenario”.
Do you guys know what actually is a “ticking time bomb” scenario?
Lucy: No
Mark: Please enlighten us about this particular scenario.
Henry (with a superior air): Well “ticking time bomb” scenario is the scenario wherein the
various nations of the world torture a terrorist of other kind of suspects who are likely to
cause a significant damage to the society in a bid to get information from them to avert the
disaster2.
Mark: Sounds quiet logical to me.
Lucy: But is that not illegal.
2 Luban, David. "Unthinking the Ticking Bomb," in Charles R. Beitz and Robert E. Goodin (eds.), Global Basic
Rights, Oxford University Press, (2009) pp. 181-206.

3TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
Henry: Yes that is. But the information that can be extracted from them can save the lives of
millions of people.
Mark: Yes at times you “need to cut a finger to save the hand”3.
Henry: Yes and even Immanuel Kant said the same thing when he said that “the end justifies
the means”. The rightness or the wrongness of a particular action depends on the end result
and the means which is used to achieve the end.
Lucy: Yes true. But is that not ethically incorrect. I mean that even the people who are
detained in the cells possesses some basic fundamental rights and don’t you think that it is a
gross violation of the fundamental as well as the basic rights of the individuals concerned in
the process.
Henry: Then what about the “right to live” and the other fundamental rights of the people
who die every year because of the mass destruction and the other terrorist activities caused by
these terrorists and other malevolent forces in the society4.
Lucy: Well I guess I must agree with you to disagree with you.
Henry: Disagree? Even when you see this particular phenomenon under the lens of the
precepts of the philosophies of Unitarianism it becomes justified5. As per the precepts of the
philosophies of Unitarianism a particular action which causes good or utility to the greatest
number of people is totally justified and must be sought for6.
3 Hosseini, Khaled. And the mountains echoed. A&C Black, 2013.
4 Shue, Henry. Fighting hurt: rule and exception in torture and war. Oxford University Press, 2016.
5 Ighobor, Kingsley. "Africa’s youth: ticking time bomb or an opportunity?." Africa Renewal 27, no. 1 (2013):
10-12.
6 Ighobor, Kingsley. "Africa’s youth: ticking time bomb or an opportunity?." Africa Renewal 27, no. 1 (2013):
10-12.

4TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
Lucy: Why do you always try to interpret everything on the basis of the concepts which you
teach to your students in the college?
Henry: I am not trying to interpret anything Lucy. On the contrary I am just stating the facts
and what do you thing that the nation or the government or the police authorities should do
when they find that some people are trying to destroy the peace and the harmony of the
nation? Just sit back and request the culprits involved in the process to provide them with the
necessary information so that they can avert the danger? I think that it is much more
preferable to take the aid of torture to extract the required from them which would save the
lives of thousands of people7.
Lucy: I know what you are trying to say is totally correct but what about the danger or the
threat which entails with the process?
Henry: What danger? What threat?
Lucy: The danger of the misuse of the power which the law and the government is putting in
the hands of the police authorities by granting them the permission to inflict torture on the
people to extract information from them8.
Mark: I remember a few days back I was watching the movie “In the name of the Father”
which had Daniel Day Lewis in the lead role and it portrayed the brutal torture as well as the
punishment which was inflicted on the common innocent people during the time of the
terrorist blasts in London9.
7 Dershowitz, Alan M."Tortured Reasoning," in Sanford Levinson (ed.), Torture: A Collection, Oxford
University Press (2004) pp. 257-280.
8 Luban, David. "Liberalism, torture, and the ticking bomb." In Intervention, Terrorism, and Torture, pp. 249-
262. Springer, Dordrecht, 2007.
9 Barnes, Katherine. "Europe's ticking time bomb." Nature 473, no. 7346 (2011): 140.

5TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
Henry: Mark even I had seen the movie. But that is not the point. Tell me don’t you think that
it is better to cause pain and torture to a handful of people in order to save the lives of
thousands of other innocent people10.
Mark (sarcastically): Well let us just say that even if I agree with you then to what extent are
these torture sessions allowed to go? Till the culprit gives out the desired information or till
he or she is dead?
Henry: Why are you being so sarcastic?
Mark: I am not I just want to know about this “ticking time bomb” scenario of yours and to
be very frank I do not quite like the idea very much.
Henry: I totally agree with you that the idea might seem a bit crude to a few people but it is a
necessary one. In fact the majority of the nations of the world have already adopted this
particular policy. However, there are other countries of the world like the United States of
America which is yet to decide whether they should allow this particular process in their
nation or not11.
Mark: Well recently I was reading an article and in that the particular said “Authorizing
torture is bad and dangerous idea that can easily be made to sound plausible. There is subtle
fallacy embedded in the traditional 'ticking bomb' argument for torture to save lives”12. Now
how do you feel about that?
Lucy: Well what an irony! I thought that Henry was the one who was the literature professor
out here!
10 Dershowitz, Alan. "Tortured reasoning." Torture: A collection257 (2004): 257-80.
11 Luban, David. "Unthinking the Ticking Bomb," in Charles R. Beitz and Robert E. Goodin (eds.), Global Basic
Rights, Oxford University Press, (2009) pp. 181-206.
12 Shue, Henry. Fighting hurt: rule and exception in torture and war. Oxford University Press, 2016.

6TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
Henry: Well Mark there you are getting me wrong. I am totally against the concept of
violence and torture for that matter but there are some scenarios where you don’t have a
choice and need to do the things which are right even if your ethics does not allow them13.
And Lucy you don’t have to use sarcasm all the time.
Lucy: I was not trying to be sarcastic.
Henry: Why don’t you go back to your Cosmopolitan?
Lucy: I think that I will because I don’t think that I agree with you.
Henry: Well you don’t necessarily have to agree with me because this is a fact.
Mark: Even I don’t totally agree with you.
Henry: Then what are you trying to suggest? We should leave the people to do just because
we are unwilling to use the mechanism of torture to extract information from the terrorists?
Mark: I am not against the concept of extracting information from the terrorists which could
save the lives of millions of innocent people on a yearly basis. I am just saying that I am
against the concept of the use of violence for the extraction of the information from the
concerned people.
Henry: Even I am not supporting the use of violence but you need to take this one as special
case. Do you know that the concept was first articulated in the novel “Les Centurions” in the
1960s by Jean Lartéguy in the particular context of the Algerian War. Even Alan Dershowitz,
a defense attorney of the American nation states that “it would be better if there were a
regulated procedure through which an interrogator could request a "torture warrant" and that
13 Allhoff, Fritz. Terrorism, ticking time-bombs, and torture: A philosophical analysis. University of Chicago
Press, 2012.

7TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
requiring a warrant would establish a paper trail of accountability”14. Furthermore, he goes on
to say that “Torturers, and those who authorize torture, could be held to account for
excesses”15. Therefore, you see that we are not asking for the random use of violence but the
use of violence on the terrorist and other anti-social elements of the society in a legalized
manner.
Mark: Well violence is violence no matter in which context it is being used. See the thing is
that if you allow these people to use violence and torture in the present times then who knows
that a time might come when these same state and police authorities might start using the
same elements of violence and torture on the common civilians16.
Lucy: I am with you on this particular score Mark. Well does anyone wants to have coffee I
am going to get some for me…
Henry: No thank you.
Mark: I think that I will pass. But thank you anyways.
Lucy: Okay.
(Lucy leaves the room)
Henry: I totally understand you concern but you see that the state authorities need to provide
a certain amount of evidence that the person whom they are about to use the violence as well
as torture are dangerous to the society and in addition to that they also need to get torture
warrants from the higher authorities to inflict torture. In addition to that, the only restrained
14 Dershowitz, Alan M."Tortured Reasoning," in Sanford Levinson (ed.), Torture: A Collection, Oxford
University Press (2004) pp. 257-280.
15 Dershowitz, Alan M."Tortured Reasoning," in Sanford Levinson (ed.), Torture: A Collection, Oxford
University Press (2004) pp. 257-280.
16 Shue, Henry. Fighting hurt: rule and exception in torture and war. Oxford University Press, 2016.

8TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
amount of torture is inflicted on the suspects and that depends on the amount of danger or the
kind of danger which the suspect poses to the society or the nation.
Mark: But what about the ethical factor.
Henry: Mark, tell me what about the ethical factor of the people who die every year due to
the criminal activities of these people.
Mark: I recall a particular article of Bruce Anderson published in the “The Independent” in
the year 2010 where he stated about this particular argument that “It came, in the form of a
devilish intellectual challenge. Let's take your hypothesis a bit further. We have captured a
terrorist, but he is a hardened character. We cannot be certain that he will crack in time. We
have also captured his wife and children…… Torture the wife and children”.
Henry: There you are getting me wrong again. I am not for the torture or the violence
committed on the innocent people. I am just for the support of the right amount of torture as
well as violence which is necessary to crack down the suspected criminals. I do not support
the concept of torturing the wives or the children of the suspected persons.
Mark: You see that this is what I am concerned about. Once you give them an inch of space
they want to get the entire plot.
Henry: Mark, it is nothing like that. Even there are some people in the state authorities who
are in the support of a limited amount of violence and torture on the suspects. Thus, in the
opinion of Joe Navarro, an FBI agent said to the “The New Yorker”, “Only a psychopath can
torture and be unaffected. You don’t want people like that in your organization. They are
untrustworthy, and tend to have grotesque other problems”.
Mark: See this is what I am telling you. Power can change the people in a significant manner.
Abraham Lincoln himself said “If you want to see the true character of a man give him

9TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
power”. Therefore, if the state authorities are given unreasonable amount of power they will
start misusing it in a significant manner. And this particular factor is my major concern17.
Henry: I totally agree with you in this particular context. Thus, I also want the state
authorities to have just the right amount of power so that they can get the desired results and
do not misuse the power which have been provided to them. Therefore, with this particular
view in mind the various state authorities have introduced some regulatory measures
regarding the use of violence and torture for the extraction of the information necessary to
avert the danger which their activities pose to the society. A typical example of this is the
procurement of the “torture warrants” before the infliction of the torture or violence or the
persons concerned18.
Mark: Well I will support you in this particular aspect. It is true that torture is necessary for
getting the desired kind of information from the various suspects however the violence needs
to inflicted in a restrained manner.
Henry: See now you are getting my point. This was what I was trying to tell you from the
beginning.
Mark: Well do you want to grab a quick bite before you go the college?
Henry: I don’t mind.
Mark: Where shall we go?
Henry: How about McDonald’s? It is just down the lane.
Mark: Okay.
17 Barnes, Katherine. "Europe's ticking time bomb." Nature 473, no. 7346 (2011): 140.
18 Luban, David. "Unthinking the Ticking Bomb," in Charles R. Beitz and Robert E. Goodin (eds.), Global Basic
Rights, Oxford University Press, (2009) pp. 181-206.

10TICKING TIME BOMB SCENARIO
Both of them leave the room and head towards the McDonald’s outlet.

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References
Allhoff, Fritz. Terrorism, ticking time-bombs, and torture: A philosophical analysis.
University of Chicago Press, 2012.
Barnes, Katherine. "Europe's ticking time bomb." Nature 473, no. 7346 (2011): 140.
Dershowitz, Alan M."Tortured Reasoning," in Sanford Levinson (ed.), Torture: A Collection,
Oxford University Press (2004) pp. 257-280.
Dershowitz, Alan. "Tortured reasoning." Torture: A collection257 (2004): 257-80.
Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and punishment. Penguin UK, 2014.
Hosseini, Khaled. And the mountains echoed. A&C Black, 2013.
Ighobor, Kingsley. "Africa’s youth: ticking time bomb or an opportunity?." Africa
Renewal 27, no. 1 (2013): 10-12.
Luban, David. "Liberalism, torture, and the ticking bomb." In Intervention, Terrorism, and
Torture, pp. 249-262. Springer, Dordrecht, 2007.
Luban, David. "Unthinking the Ticking Bomb," in Charles R. Beitz and Robert E. Goodin
(eds.), Global Basic Rights, Oxford University Press, (2009) pp. 181-206.
Luban, David. Torture, power, and law. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Shue, Henry. Fighting hurt: rule and exception in torture and war. Oxford University Press,
2016.
Webber, J. "Ticking time bomb." British dental journal 214, no. 6 (2013): 274.

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