1: Introduction I: Moral Conflicts and Deontology
2: Introduction II: What is Torture?
3: Why Torture is Wrong
4: The Rationality of Deontological Constraints
5: Legal Responses to Torture
Bibliography
Matthew H. Kramer is Professor of Legal and Political Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.
The book under review is one of the most comprehensive intellectual
efforts to address the thorny issue of torture that I have seen. .
. Putting the discussion of torture in the broader perspective of
torture in general and of the nature of morality is not the only
merit of this book; Kramer also zooms in on the particularities
that come with interrogational torture. He discusses and analyses
in great detail competing interpretations of the wrongfulness of
torture by drawing on a wealth of cases. As a result, Kramers book
provides us with an extensive overview of the recent discussion on
(interrogational) torture. The manner in which he dissects these
interpretations and cases is often illuminating. . . Even if one is
not convinced by Kramers distinction between moral permissibility
and moral optimality, the book still provides a comprehensive
treatment of the literature on torture.
*Thomas Mertens. Netherlands International Law Review*
As one would expect from Kramer, he. . .is very convincing in his
arguments. [T]he book is well written, concise and engaging. . .
Kramer is so convincing in his argument that it will be impossible
for a reader to read Dershowitz without recalling the faults
considered by Kramer. . . Kramer's book invites lawyers to think
again about generally held presuppositions about the legality of
torture.
*Christy Shucksmith, International Criminal Law Review*
Torture and Moral Integrity is an impressively comprehensive
treatment of its subject. Kramer painstakingly develops a taxonomy
of torture that is far more detailed than is usually found in this
literature, and advances acute challenges to many of its most
prominent figures (such as Shue, Nagel, and Dershowitz). [H]is book
remains a valuable resource for anyone trying to think honestly
about the moral and legal status of torture in light of all the
purposes that it might seem to serve.
*David Sussman, Law and Philosophy*
In Torture and Moral Integrity Matthew Kramer carefully and
thoughtfully develops an argument for an absolute moral prohibition
on most types of torture. The book's structure reflects Kramer's
commitment to starting from the most foundational questions, like
the general structure of morality and building up to more practical
and concrete questions...Kramer's book is a must for anyone
seriously considering the question of torture, for a number of
reasons: one, it is one of the most thorough analyses of the
breadth of literature on torture; two, it starts from the most
foundational questions and builds up to concrete, practical
proposals and three, it is genuinely original.
*Jovana Davidovic, Analysis*
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