Is Torture Really Worse than Death?

[Mattius_]

I was just wondering, that in an objective sense, the only thing wrong with a tortured death is the pain and possibly embarrasment one goes through before death. These are days and weeks at the most in almost all cases. So what I don't get, is how does tortured death, for example, taped decapitation, differ from a gun shot wound? I mean, to be honest, I would prefer an unpainful death, but really, I don't think, objectively speaking, that It would matter much, a few extra days of pain is not much...

 

[Janitor]

possibly embarrasment - Mattius

I won't answer your question directly. But I will note that I know of some elderly single people who call one another each morning, 365 days of the year. I gather that the primary purpose, left unspoken by them, is that if one of them should die, as long as the other remains alive for the next 24 or so hours, the one alive will be able to alert others to start a chain of events that would lead to the corpse being discovered before it has time to get really bloated and nasty. I know that's gross to talk about, but there you go.

 

[BoulderHead]

I was just wondering, that in an objective sense, the only thing wrong with a tortured death is the pain and possibly embarrasment one goes through before death. These are days and weeks at the most in almost all cases. So what I don't get, is how does tortured death, for example, taped decapitation, differ from a gun shot wound? I mean, to be honest, I would prefer an unpainful death, but really, I don't think, objectively speaking, that It would matter much, a few extra days of pain is not much...

I think what you are doing here is confusing two issues. On the one hand is a matter of pain, suffering, and the relative merits of different ways to end a life. On the other hand is a comparison of eternity to a finite time period. You begin by saying something to the effect that pain and wrongness may be related, but then surmise that a few extra days of pain is not much. What’s important isn’t that death brings relief from pain or embarrassment (unrevealed) but rather, what’s felt while the individual still lives. When compared to eternity a few days is certainly not much time, but if red-hot instruments were being inserted repeatedly into a bodily orifice I should think that a few extra days of such treatment would seem like an eternity !

I won't answer your question directly. But I will note that I know of some elderly single people who call one another each morning, 365 days of the year. I gather that the primary purpose, left unspoken by them, is that if one of them should die, as long as the other remains alive for the next 24 or so hours, the one alive will be able to alert others to start a chain of events that would lead to the corpse being discovered before it has time to get really bloated and nasty. I know that's gross to talk about, but there you go.

Here’s another method that can work even without a telephone. It is practiced in certain retirement communities and is good for people who live alone; place a sign in one of your windows where it can be easily seen. The sign has a day of the week written on it, for example; Monday. Now, if Friday comes rolling around yet BoulderHead hasn’t updated the sign in his window since Monday, well, can you guess what time it is ?

 

[THANOS]

i think i will die someday.

 

[Lorentz]

the only thing wrong with a tortured death is the pain and possibly embarrasment one goes through before death. These are days and weeks at the most in almost all cases.

Well if that's all

So what I don't get, is how does tortured death, for example, taped decapitation, differ from a gun shot wound? I mean, to be honest, I would prefer an unpainful death, but really, I don't think, objectively speaking, that It would matter much, a few extra days of pain is not much...

We're talking about two different things here you seem to combine to one.
As I see it there's killing and hurting which are two different things. Hurting someone can even be worse then killing someone.

 

[loseyourname]

I'd say it's pretty much instinctual to avoid pointless pain, no matter how long it lasts. That said, decapitation would not be a terrible way to go, provided it is not preceded by any form of torture.