Sadism and torture

[Blind groper]

According to Prof. Steven Pinker, sadism is an acquired taste. Most sadists, the first time they inflict pain on another person, leaves them disappointed by the lack of pleasure they get. However, if they do it again, and again, the pleasure grows and they become addicted.

That left me wondering about waterboarding. If some military person is ordered to apply the waterboarding torture, and to many people, will this drive them eventually to become full blown sadists?

[pErvinalia]

Does it take a certain personality type to begin with? Or can anyone turn into a sadist? But I would expect anyone willing to torture someone else, would be the right personality type to begin with. So it wouldn't surprise me if some of these people are full blown sadists.

[Blind groper]

I certainly have no special knowledge on this topic, and I was posting based on Pinker's writing. I think he was talking of wannabe sadists, with a pre-existing tendency, who develop the full vice over time. My question related to someone in the military who was not a sadist, but was ordered to torture people. Would that person then develop sadism? It seems very possible, and if so, would be a further reason to ban waterboarding or other tortures.

[Hermit]

I certainly have no special knowledge on this topic, and I was posting based on Pinker's writing. I think he was talking of wannabe sadists, with a pre-existing tendency, who develop the full vice over time. My question related to someone in the military who was not a sadist, but was ordered to torture people. Would that person then develop sadism? It seems very possible, and if so, would be a further reason to ban waterboarding or other tortures.

That reminds me of the debates concerning computer games, wherein people advocate the censoring or banning first-person-shootemups on the grounds that they are apt to turn young, malleable people into mass killers. Reaching back further in time, Charles Manson was allegedly inspired to organise his killing spree by listening to a Beatles song titled Helter-Skelter.

[Seth]

There's a pretty clear line here. If one engages in the behavior for reasons of self-gratification, as opposed to for the purpose of obtaining information to prevent harm to others, then one is a Sadist.

Motive is everything.

However, its a line that is very easy to cross, as so many banana-republic torturers like...oh...Che Guevara, have discovered.

When the purpose of the act is no longer to prevent a greater harm but has become inflicting harm for the sake of inflicting harm, that's Sadism.

One of DeSade's most famous works, "Justine," was not sadistic, it was an atheistic role-reversal morality play indicting the notion that by living a sin-less life one will be rewarded by God, and that by living a sinful life one will be punished by God.

[Audley Strange]

Well if it is sadism as in deriving pleasure or satisfaction from physical or mental abuse of others then torture is sadism. Torture is done solely for the benefit and satisfaction of the torturers. Any rationalisation can be slotted in and hooted to avoid that basic fact though. As such I would imagine the Military and intelligence agencies would be able to identify in advance those members who would gain most satisfaction from it, so most likely the individuals would be less likely to become sadists, they already would be to get the gig in the first place.