Mark F writes that because those whom Dante helps to torment in the Inferno are dead and damned by God, "to use Dante as a justification for torture is simply foolish." And indeed it would be, even for those who still believe in the justice of torture in the afterlife as Dante did. But Alberto Manguel does not do so; his argument is that the fictional Dante (depicted as a living man, by the way) is hardened and brutalized by the torture around him - even in the depiction of Dante the poet.
Posted byRobert DawsonFebruary 01, 2011 16:27:29
Misinterpretation of an Epic
Anyone who would use instances of 'torture' in Dante's Inferno to legitimize torture in the real world has a poor understanding of literature and Christian theology. It would be correct to assert that the instances of torture in the Inferno are justified because they show "obedience to God's law and acceptance of superior judgment". However, Dante is stating that the people in Hell deserve to be there because God allowed it. Dante is not making some defense of the use of torture. The people in Hell have already died and been judged.
To use Dante as a justification for torture is simply foolish. Nowhere in Christian orthodoxy is torture supported. What happens to the dead is a matter out of human control and should not be used to justify what happens to the living.
Posted byMark FApril 01, 2010 23:11:01
How do we decide who to punish and when?
Until I saw the film,
"Taxi to the Dark Side" by director Alex Gibney, I would have agreed with what you say here, so beautifully.
This film also explores the ethical question of who is to blame for the torture in Bagram, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo. Is it the administration giving the orders or the soldiers carrying out their duties? After hearing the soldier's personal accounts of their experiences in this film and seeing their confused and battered mental states, and realizing this suffering will probably go on until they die, I am not sure anymore of my once unforgiving stance on punishing anyone who does harm to others.
How should it be dealt with?
Posted byAnonymousOctober 30, 2009 00:11:35
Le cours de la vie.
Quand je pense
au premier
âge de ma
jeunesse, une
corporelle rime
m'appelle
silencieuse comme
une blanche
harmonie, et
un chant disparaît....
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In Review
Reviews, comments and curiosa from the editors at Geist.
Comments
Mark F writes that because
Posted by Robert Dawson February 01, 2011 16:27:29
Misinterpretation of an Epic
Posted by Mark F April 01, 2010 23:11:01
How do we decide who to punish and when?
Posted by Anonymous October 30, 2009 00:11:35
Le cours de la vie.
Posted by Francesco Sinibaldi October 22, 2009 18:25:00