Commencement Welcome: Roger M. Perlmutter ’73, Chair, Board of Trustees

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/when-democracies-torture.

Torture is prohibited under international law and is widely considered a human rights violation. But despite the fact that 157 countries ratified the UN Convention Against Torture, it is still practiced in many states to this day. Moreover, while we might associate torture with dictatorships, liberal democracies pioneered the modern techniques that leave no physical trace. So why do democracies torture? Can calling torture by other names, such as “enhanced interrogation,” really resolve the deep conflict between what we say and what we do? Or has the taboo against torture finally been broken? John and Ken enhance their interrogation of Darius Rejali from Reed College, author of "Torture and Democracy."

When Democracies Torture

Reed College Dean of Students Bruce Smith visits with Vice President of Admission and Financial Aid Milyon Trulove and Director of Communications Kevin Myers to welcome the Reed College Class of 2022.

Orientation: Welcome to Reed, Class of 2022!

Reed College, located in Portland, Oregon, was founded in 1908 as an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian college of the liberal arts and sciences. Committed to intellectual rigor and academic freedom, rejecting the establishment of intercollegiate sport and fraternal societies, and guided by an egalitarian spirit and meritocratic ideal, Reed has served for over a hundred years as a model of independent leadership in higher education.

Commencement Welcome: Roger M. Perlmutter ’73, Chair, Board of Trustees

Reed College

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