Comments on: For Psychologists, a Fine Line Between Scientific Discovery and Torture http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/12/12/for-psychologists-a-fine-line-between-scientific-discovery-and-torture/ A blog about science, politics, and how to let each help the other without compromising them both. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:22:47 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: jiji http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/12/12/for-psychologists-a-fine-line-between-scientific-discovery-and-torture/comment-page-1/#comment-25138 jiji Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:04:33 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/12/12/for-psychologists-a-fine-line-between-scientific-discovery-and-torture/#comment-25138 The South was <a href="http://www.rolexreplica123.com" rel="nofollow">Replica Rolex</a> beginning to suffer from <a href="http://www.rolexreplica123.com" rel="nofollow">Replica watches</a> a lack of supplies and men for its armies. The North was <a href="http://www.rolexreplica123.com" rel="nofollow">Rolex Replica</a> beginning to suffer from a lack of fighting spirit. Many Americans in <a href="http://www.rolexreplica123.com" rel="nofollow">Rolex shop</a> northern states did not <a href="http://www.rolexreplica123.com" rel="nofollow">Rolex</a> support the war policies of Union President Abraham Lincoln. Some said openly that they <a href="http://www.maple-story-mesos.com/" rel="nofollow">maplestory mesos</a> did not care who won the war. They just wanted to be left alone. The South was Replica Rolex beginning to suffer from Replica watches a lack of supplies and men for its armies. The North was Rolex Replica beginning to suffer from a lack of fighting spirit.

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]]> By: Steve Miles http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/12/12/for-psychologists-a-fine-line-between-scientific-discovery-and-torture/comment-page-1/#comment-4303 Steve Miles Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:12:11 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/12/12/for-psychologists-a-fine-line-between-scientific-discovery-and-torture/#comment-4303 The APA created a committe to write its policy that was designed to be controlled by the Dept of Defense and Military Intelligence. It provided APA materials to those government agencies as it voted to seal the activities from APA members. Defense Department officers from Guantanamo, Iraq and Afghanistan had voting bloc control of the Presidential Ethics and National Security Task Force. In essence, APA's leadership allowed the organization to be placed under the control of a military operation that procedeed to write APA policy to provide cover for interrogation psychologist. It is a red herring to propose that psychologists' non clinical roles makes them some how morally heterogenous with regard to interrogation compared to physicians. The DoD interrogation psychologists were directly involved in harming people; expertise in "learned helplessness" is even listed as a job prerequisite! This experience was not a matter of fine line, or shades of gray--APA leadership charged headfirst into the darkness. The APA created a committe to write its policy that was designed to be controlled by the Dept of Defense and Military Intelligence. It provided APA materials to those government agencies as it voted to seal the activities from APA members. Defense Department officers from Guantanamo, Iraq and Afghanistan had voting bloc control of the Presidential Ethics and National Security Task Force. In essence, APA’s leadership allowed the organization to be placed under the control of a military operation that procedeed to write APA policy to provide cover for interrogation psychologist. It is a red herring to propose that psychologists’ non clinical roles makes them some how morally heterogenous with regard to interrogation compared to physicians. The DoD interrogation psychologists were directly involved in harming people; expertise in “learned helplessness” is even listed as a job prerequisite! This experience was not a matter of fine line, or shades of gray–APA leadership charged headfirst into the darkness.

]]> By: Ted Strauss http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/12/12/for-psychologists-a-fine-line-between-scientific-discovery-and-torture/comment-page-1/#comment-4298 Ted Strauss Sat, 13 Dec 2008 07:35:12 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/12/12/for-psychologists-a-fine-line-between-scientific-discovery-and-torture/#comment-4298 The characterization of psychologists involvement with Illegal Interrogation practices as "ethical landmines" is inaccurate. A landmine is something with a risk of exploding. But, as the Senate Armed Services Committee report by Senator Carl Levin released today makes clear, as well as many earlier documents, psychologists willfuly engaged in unethical practices. There was no roll of the dice, no ambiguity about the implications of their acts. Psychologists systematically designed and implemented interrogation practices that are clearly abusive. By abusive, I am talking about psychologically torturing a person for weeks or months on end. The only reason this issue is presented as a complex ethical debate is that the Bush administration wrote legal memos to redefine torture such that having a a medical professional (including a psychologist) present during the interrogation meant that any act against a detainee does NOT count as torture. They coordinated this legal loophole with the people running the prisons so as to shield themselves from blame. Senator Carl Levins report exposes these lies, this abuse. Read this report here- http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/supporting/2008/Detainees.121108.pdf It is understandable to want to think of ethical issues as complex and debatable, where each side of the debate has fair and reasonable arguments. This issue is not so complex though. Torture and abuse is wrong wrong wrong. Scientists have no special status in relation to such acts. The characterization of psychologists involvement with Illegal Interrogation practices as “ethical landmines” is inaccurate. A landmine is something with a risk of exploding. But, as the Senate Armed Services Committee report by Senator Carl Levin released today makes clear, as well as many earlier documents, psychologists willfuly engaged in unethical practices. There was no roll of the dice, no ambiguity about the implications of their acts. Psychologists systematically designed and implemented interrogation practices that are clearly abusive. By abusive, I am talking about psychologically torturing a person for weeks or months on end. The only reason this issue is presented as a complex ethical debate is that the Bush administration wrote legal memos to redefine torture such that having a a medical professional (including a psychologist) present during the interrogation meant that any act against a detainee does NOT count as torture. They coordinated this legal loophole with the people running the prisons so as to shield themselves from blame. Senator Carl Levins report exposes these lies, this abuse. Read this report here- http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/supporting/2008/Detainees.121108.pdf
It is understandable to want to think of ethical issues as complex and debatable, where each side of the debate has fair and reasonable arguments. This issue is not so complex though. Torture and abuse is wrong wrong wrong. Scientists have no special status in relation to such acts.

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