A) Torture works. Really. It does. If you don’t believe it, try it. It’ll be a short lesson.
That depends on what you’re trying to use it for. Torture is very good at getting people to do whatever they believe will stop the torture. For example, it’s a good way to get people to confess to whatever you want them to confess to. Torture is a rather poor way to get people to tell you the truth when they have motive to lie and verification is difficult; they might as well just keep saying things at random until they say something that ends the torture.
Someone who knows the truth you are trying to get from them is very likely relatively early on to try the actual truth to get out of the torture.
If you are smart enough to realize that torturing someone who doesn’t know the truth, and have the resources to check multiple hypotheses presented by the tortured, and place enough value on getting the truth, torture on the whole is still really effective.
I think it is just a hopeful belief to say “torture does not work.”
A) Torture works. Really. It does. If you don’t believe it, try it. It’ll be a short lesson.
That depends on what you’re trying to use it for. Torture is very good at getting people to do whatever they believe will stop the torture. For example, it’s a good way to get people to confess to whatever you want them to confess to. Torture is a rather poor way to get people to tell you the truth when they have motive to lie and verification is difficult; they might as well just keep saying things at random until they say something that ends the torture.
Someone who knows the truth you are trying to get from them is very likely relatively early on to try the actual truth to get out of the torture.
If you are smart enough to realize that torturing someone who doesn’t know the truth, and have the resources to check multiple hypotheses presented by the tortured, and place enough value on getting the truth, torture on the whole is still really effective.
I think it is just a hopeful belief to say “torture does not work.”