Torture

For my third paper, I am considering writing about the definition of torture. In several sources the term is defined in different ways. Ranging from some sources claiming it to be “immense feelings of pain or acute mental or physical pain” to a medical definition that states that it is “severe pain that is intentionally inflicted on a person to obtain information for any reason based on discrimination of any kind (WordNetWeb, MedicineNet). Because the definitions are different in every source, I know that there would be some debate on what exactly is considered torture. For my paper I want to explore what exactly could be considered torture and what may not be considered based on different definitions provided. I feel like torture is a clear issue of definition because there have been several cases that have come up with the treatment of humans and animals where some claim that certain behaviors are torturous, where as others deem it simply as deserved punishment. I plan to research different documents that will support my claim about certain behaviors being torturous. By using the various definitions I have found I will formulate my own definition and use it throughout my paper to help my reader to grasp the point I am trying to make. Based off of the issues that come up relating to my topic, I will use all the definitions that I find to make truthful statements about whether certain behaviors should be considered torturous or not. I will use evidence throughout to effectively support my claim with each definition.