“Torture was legal, morally accepted, and commonplace in most ancient, medieval, and early modern societies.” This was the way historian Christopher Einolf succinctly described the history of torture: ubiquitous, common; in short: everywhere. Torture is a sort “reverse” gospel – as it is written in Il Libro Dell’avversario, chapter 6: And when the wealthy governors… Continue reading An Universal Institution: The Definitive History of Torture /// 95
Tag: human-rights
The Historical Atlas of Torture
Torture. It’s a universal institution of almost all mankind. As Carl Schmitt notes, the story of Cain and Abel, which is accepted by Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, is a story that demonstrates the inherit conflictual nature of humanity (Schmitt, 2017). Right from the beginning, death and pain were embedded into our closest relationships. Our most… Continue reading The Historical Atlas of Torture
