Torture and Moral Integrity tackles a concrete moral problem that has been hotly debated by governments, scholars, and the media: the morality of interrogational torture. It discusses multiple types of torture with great philosophical acuity and seeks to explain why interrogational torture and other types of torture are always and everywhere morally wrong. At the same time, it rigorously plumbs the general structure of morality and the intricacies of moral conflicts and probes some of the chief grounds for the moral illegitimacy of various modes of conduct. It defends a deontological conception of morality against the subtle critiques that have been mounted over the past few decades by proponents of consequentialism. Kramer's recommendations concerning the legal consequences of the perpetration of torture by public officials or private individuals, for example, are based squarely on his more abstract accounts of the nature of torture and the nature of morality. His philosophical reflections on the structure of morality are a vital background for his approach to torture, and his approach to torture is a natural outgrowth of those philosophical reflections.

Essay inspired by conversations with the artist Jean-Luc Moulène addressing abstraction as a multifaceted project in the general domain of thought, and as a specific process of artistic experimentation. The fruit of numerous conversations with the artist Jean-Luc Moulène, Reza Negarestani's essay addresses abstraction as a multi-faceted project in the general domain of thought, and as a specific process of artistic experimentation. How can abstraction be so apparently ubiquitous in contemporary art, and yet so nebulously defined? "We have all heard of abstraction, but no one has ever seen one...." In Moulène's work, Negarestani discovers a renewal of the constitutive gesture of abstraction, rooted in the dialectic between form (mathematics) and sensible matter (physics). At once sensory, cognitive, and political, the disturbing force of the work compels us to reconnect the parochial art-historical notion of abstraction to a more comprehensive understanding of the term. Perhaps such a "formal cruelty of thought" is capable of "reactivating abstraction as a vector of disjunction and unity of art, philosophy, and science." Published by Sequence Press on the occasion of Jean-Luc Moulène's exhibition Torture Concrete, September 7-October 26, 2014, at Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York.

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.

At one time in Europe, there was a point to pain: physical suffering could be a path to redemption. This religious notion suggested that truth was lodged in the body and could be achieved through torture. In Tortured Subjects, Lisa Silverman tells the haunting story of how this idea became a fixed part of the French legal system during the early modern period. Looking closely at the theory and practice of judicial torture in France from 1600 to 1788, the year in which it was formally abolished, Silverman revisits dossiers compiled in criminal cases, including transcripts of interrogations conducted under torture, as well as the writings of physicians and surgeons concerned with the problem of pain, records of religious confraternities, diaries and letters of witnesses to public executions, and the writings of torture's abolitionists and apologists. She contends that torture was at the center of an epistemological crisis that forced French jurists and intellectuals to reconsider the relationship between coercion and sincerity, or between free will and evidence. As the philosophical consensus on which torture rested broke down, and definitions of truth and pain shifted, so too did the foundation of torture, until by the eighteenth century, it became an indefensible practice.

This book develops, for the first time, a comprehensive discussion regarding the legality of torture and the efficacy of interrogation. Scientific research has concluded that torture is not effective. So, what interrogational methods are effective and how does one deploy those methods in such a way that is consistent with law and morality?

The United States' use of torture and harsh interrogation techniques during the "War on Terror" has sparked fervent debate among citizens and scholars surrounding the human rights of war criminals. Does all force qualify as "necessary and appropriate" in this period of political unrest? Examining Torture brings together some of the best recent scholarship on the incidence of torture in a comparative and international context. The contributors to this volume use both quantitative and qualitative studies to examine the causes and consequences of torture policies and the resulting public opinion. Policy makers as well as scholars and those concerned with human rights will find this collection invaluable.

Over the course of human history, torture has been used as an instrument of war, a means of extracting information, and a mode of punishment. Many argue that it is a necessary weapon in times of war. Others insist that it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, violates human rights laws, and fails to extract trustworthy information. This book dives into the debate over torture from all sides, using examples from recent history as well as sidebars, full-color photographs, and a glossary designed to improve young adults' understanding of this controversial topic.