The Shattering of Subjectivity: Reflections on Torture and Human Suffering
The Shattering of Subjectivity: Reflections on Torture and Human Suffering

Summary/Abstract: In this article, I undertake an analysis of torture from a phenomenological perspective. In the first part of the paper, I analyze the UN definition of torture. Against this background, I show that the legal understanding of torture relies on vague and undefined concepts of severe pain and suffering. This leads me to a phenomenological investigation into the question: What does the suffering of a tortured person consist of? In the second part, I discuss the shattering of subjectivity as the main source of the victim’s pain. In conclusion, I aim to strengthen the argument against the use of torture.

• Details
• Contents