Terrorism discussed at weekend workshop on campus

By Ranchithaa Antatory

Western Herald

Fritz Allhoff

Terrorism, counter-terrorism and torture will be the subject of a presentatioin/discussion today and Friday, Feb. 11-12 during a workshop on Western Michigan University’s campus.

Titled “Terrorism, Ticking Time Bombs and Torture,” the workshop shares its name with a manuscript written by Fritz Allhoff, Ph.D, an assistant professor of philosophy at WMU.

Presentations during the workshop will be based on chapters of Allhoff’s manuscript, which he will be answering questions about.

The manuscript is expected to be published early next year by the University of Chicago Press.

“Following 9/11, I became interested in how we could and should respond to terroristic threats. The moral status of interrogational torture is a principal focus of that dialogue,” Allhoff said.

“If we could gain lifesaving intelligence by torturing a detained terrorist, should we? That’s the question at the core of my book.”

The workshop will consist of seven lectures altogether, and end with a session of a final panel of some of the presenters discussing Allhoff’s manuscript as a whole.

Various issues related to torture will also be discussed, one of which includes whether or not torture is morally permissible as a response to terrorism.

“The message that I hope to convey to the audience is that terrorism is a grave threat to our society,” Allhoff said.

“Whether torture can be a useful tool in combating terrorism is a tough question, but I look forward to having the workshop to explore it.”

Besides three WMU final-year graduate students, Vishal Garg, Chris Boss and David Charlton, the presentations and panel include professional philosophers who work in applied ethics and have published work on torture.

They are Michael Davis, Ph.D., professor of philosophy and senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at Illinois Institute of Technology; Jeremy Wisnewski, Ph.D., assistant professor of philosophy at Hartwick College; and Jessica Wolfendale, Ph.D., assistant professor of philosophy at West Virginia University.

The final panel discussion will be held in the MLK Room (Room 204) of the Bernhard Center as part of the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society’s spring lecture series.

All other sessions of the workshop will be held in Room 3014 of Moore Hall.

A full schedule of the workshop is available at http://files.allhoff.org/Workshop_Schedule.pdf.

The entire workshop is free and open to the public. Registration prior to attendance is required by e-mail to vishal.k.garg@wmich.edu.

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