Sam, Becky, and Wes are beat, exhausted and pretty happy, thanks to our successful stream-a-thon, but we’re ready to talk some news! We also talk with David Diskin of Sacramento Coalition of Reason about their 12th annual Freethought Day.
Sam Mulvey is a producer and the technical brain behind Ask an Atheist. He is a collector of vinegar varieties, vintage computers, antique radios, and propaganda.
“Wait, what?” indeed. I’m not quite sure what I heard you say on this show, but let me know if you disagree with any of the following. Torture is never acceptable. If you can accept intentionally causing severe pain to someone who’s been made completely defenseless, and isn’t a threat to anyone, then morality becomes a meaningless concept. And if you have someone in a position where they can be tortured, then you have no legitimate need to torture them. If you have legitimate reasons to fear them or to have them cease a certain behavior, then you can make… Read more »
Actually, in any case let me know what your intended message was. I listened to it again, and it still sounded like you were making a case in favor of having someone tortured.
What can I say? We were tired from the fundraiser the night before, which why the show is titled what it is and has the description that it has. I think some consideration for that should be in order. Also, we did ultimately say that this was a very bad idea. It was less of a question of advocacy, and more of a question of understanding the plight of a woman who might find such a service necessary. It’s easy to say that “torture is always bad” while ignoring the fact that living with an abuser is torture in every… Read more »
Yes, I think we’re very much on the same page. I was wondering if you were trying to understand, rather than excuse. I can imagine circumstances where I could by myself do something I wouldn’t ever want as part of a legal process. And ultimately it would not be necessary, nor would I want the power to be my own justice system. We have prisons, as societies we can lock people up. If someone’s not fit for society, removing them from society is enough. And as individuals, we have no reason to think that one individual is more in their… Read more »
Hi guys! love the show, big fan! Was listening to this episode and the talk about the end of the witch trials… A fun fact… The governor only ruled to exclude spectral evidence only after his own wife was accused of being a witch herself… It did not really happened as a stand for division of church and state… Thought I pass it on…
J