Terrorism, Torture, and Conscience

Abstract

In our current intellectual climate, the inner moral dialogue of conscience has been subjected to new criticisms. Competing authoritative discourses in the self are often reduced to clashing social power arrangements. Diverse voices in conscience are seen as evidence of a dispersed or divided self without continuing identity. Suspicion of metanarratives and universal claims accompanies emphasis on the particularity of social location. In this context, this essay examines the case of Lt. Col. Stuart Couch, the Marine lawyer who refused to prosecute a suspect at Guantanamo because he became convinced that the prisoner had been tortured. What is proposed is a view of conscience that takes the criticisms seriously without abandoning the authority, identity, and universality that true community fosters.