The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information
The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information
The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information
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emained problematic: <strong>for</strong> as many pointed out over <strong>the</strong> course <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> trials, if Satan could impersonate<br />
<strong>the</strong> prophet Samuel (as was thought to be <strong>the</strong> case in <strong>the</strong> reign <strong>of</strong> Saul in Israel, 1 st Book <strong>of</strong> Samuel,<br />
28:3-25) <strong>the</strong>n he could impersonate anyone, including <strong>the</strong> innocent and <strong>the</strong> saved. 55<br />
Ma<strong>the</strong>r went on to describe several reasons why spectral testimony could not be considered<br />
valid in <strong>the</strong> courts. To <strong>the</strong> assumption that God would not permit so many good and righteous men to<br />
be in such deadly error, Ma<strong>the</strong>r replied that God had allowed <strong>the</strong> good to suffer be<strong>for</strong>e, and would do<br />
so again. Similarly, since God did not grant humans <strong>the</strong> ability to see <strong>the</strong> “Invisible World,” <strong>the</strong><br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> its goings on exhibited by <strong>the</strong> afflicted could only come from Satan – and Satan could<br />
not be trusted to tell <strong>the</strong> truth. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, if Satan could bring New England to execute <strong>the</strong> innocent<br />
by tormenting <strong>the</strong> afflicted, <strong>the</strong> he would be killing two birds with one stone: endangering <strong>the</strong> souls <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> judges on <strong>the</strong> one hand while weakening <strong>the</strong> authority <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> law on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r. <strong>The</strong> 'touch cure'<br />
favored by <strong>the</strong> judges, where <strong>the</strong> afflicted would be blindfolded, and <strong>the</strong> accused made to touch <strong>the</strong>m in<br />
order to break <strong>the</strong> spell, was also fatally flawed: as folk magic it came perilously close to witchcraft<br />
itself, and allowed Satan <strong>the</strong> opportunity to 'prove' <strong>the</strong> guilt <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> accused. (Roach, p. 308-309) <strong>The</strong><br />
afflicted <strong>the</strong>mselves are not spared in his argument: <strong>the</strong>ir evidence could not be counted in court since<br />
<strong>the</strong>y were clearly not in <strong>the</strong>ir right minds (at least during <strong>the</strong>ir fits). Since Satan did not need <strong>the</strong><br />
permission <strong>of</strong> any human to work his evil, Ma<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong>fered a powerful alternative <strong>the</strong>ory to spectral<br />
attacks and witchery – <strong>the</strong> afflicted were simply possessed.<br />
Perhaps <strong>the</strong> most interesting point raised by Ma<strong>the</strong>r, and one that provides an astonishing link<br />
between those dark days and our own, deals with <strong>the</strong> 'evil eye' – <strong>the</strong> folk belief that a witch's gaze could<br />
hurt a victim by shooting spiritual poison at <strong>the</strong>m. Ma<strong>the</strong>r described recent scientific findings by Isaac<br />
Newton that showed that eyesight was not a projective, but a reflective phenomenon: ra<strong>the</strong>r than<br />
invisible beams that moved from <strong>the</strong> eyes out to <strong>the</strong> world, instead sight came from light beams that<br />
were reflected <strong>of</strong>f <strong>of</strong> external objects into receptors in <strong>the</strong> eyes – proving that evil eye to be nothing but<br />
superstition. This interest in science was not an abnormality in <strong>the</strong> Puritan world – part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> identity<br />
<strong>of</strong> Puritanism stemmed from its rejection <strong>of</strong> Catholic 'superstition' in favor <strong>of</strong> Protestant 'reason.' And<br />
would fall into fits and torments until <strong>the</strong>y found <strong>the</strong> confession to <strong>the</strong>ir approval – consequently, <strong>the</strong> magistrates would<br />
not believe <strong>the</strong> confession to be truthful until <strong>the</strong> afflicted had accepted it as fact.<br />
55 While Cotton Ma<strong>the</strong>r knew <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> potential pitfalls <strong>of</strong> spectral evidence, he none<strong>the</strong>less encouraged <strong>the</strong> trials <strong>for</strong> two<br />
reasons: firstly, specters would be enough to hold a person <strong>for</strong> questioning, even if it was not enough to convict, and<br />
secondly he assumed that <strong>the</strong> evidence against <strong>the</strong> condemned included much more that simple spectral testimony – an<br />
assumption that proved utterly false.<br />
55