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Cruelty is the pleasure in inflicting suffering or inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available.[1]Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve violence, but affirmative violence is not necessary for an act to be cruel. For example, if a person is drowning and begging for help and another person is able to help with no cost or risk, but is merely watching with disinterest or perhaps mischievous amusement, that person is being cruel—rather than violent.
An old poster depicting cruelty, including selling slaves in Algiers, execution, burning, and other cruelties.
George Eliot stated that "cruelty, like every other vice, requires no motive outside itself; it only requires opportunity."[2]Bertrand Russell stated that "the infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists. That is why they invented Hell."[2]Gilbert K. Chesterton stated that "cruelty is, perhaps, the worst kind of sin. Intellectual cruelty is certainly the worst kind of cruelty."[2]
There are four distinct conceptions of cruelty. “The differences between these conceptions of cruelty rest on the types of agency, victimization, causality, and values that they employ.”[3]
The first is the agent-objective conception, which is “exemplified by […] agency that goes above in degree and beyond in type the [suffering] allowed by applicable norms.”[3] Under this conception, the victim suffered cruelty in light of “the objective character of the act or treatment” she was subjected to. Cruelty, in this sense, is defined as an “inclination of the mind toward the side of harshness”.[3] Any punishment or other treatment that surpasses the scope of sufficiency and ventures into possibility is classified as excessive, and therefore, cruel.
The second conception is agent-subjective, in which “cruelty obtains only when the agent's deviant behavior is accompanied by the fault of character consisting in deriving personal delight from causing and witnessing suffering”.[3] This conception is best understood under the presumption that punishment or other violence is a means to restore the offset in the cosmic order of the universe caused by wrongdoing. Anything that goes beyond what is necessary for this restoration, then, is cruel; the peace and harmony is not balanced with excessive punishment or violence—the scale of wrongdoing merely tips to the other side. For example, the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, which means that we must “inquire into a prison official’s state of mind […]” when determining that the agent is not taking pleasure in inflicting pain and that punishment does not exceed the crime.[3]
The third conception is victim-subjective, in which the “element of cruelty rests in the victim's intense experience of suffering”.[3] Here, the pain or the sense of degradation and humiliation experienced particularly and uniquely by the victim is considered. Recognizing cruelty, then, requires reference to our compassion rather than some normative standard of reasonableness. Continuing with the example of punishment, the state’s intention is not relevant in determining whether a punishment is cruel. According to the law, “ill-treatment must attain a minimum level of severity”, and this minimum is determined by “all the circumstances of the case, such as the duration of the treatment, its physical or mental effects and, in some cases, the sex, age, and state of health of the victim, etc.”[3]
The fourth and final conception is the accumulation of all the prior conceptions: the victim-objective and agent-independent. This conception “refers to severe violations of the respect, recognition, and care that the unconditional and inherent dignity of each and every individual command”.[3] Under this view, “cruelty occurs when a grave violation of human dignity that in normal circumstances would amount to cruelty is caused by individuals or by the operation of impersonal institutions, structures or social processes, even if the victim is unaware of his predicament”.[3]
Beyond serving as an analytical framework, these four conceptions—the distinctive features of each as well as their collective evolution—reflect the reality that “the phenomenon of cruelty […] is a human-made problem that calls for preventive and corrective responses”.[3]
In law, cruelty is "the infliction of physical or mental distress, especially when considered a determinant in granting a divorce."[8]
Etymology
The term comes from Middle English, via the Old French term "crualte", which is based on Latin "crudelitas", from "crudelis".[9]
Criticism
One criticism of the concept of cruelty points at the concept of conflating disregard for others with hurting others for its own sake, arguing that the two are mutually exclusive as total disregard for what another being feels (be it a human or non-human) would be incompatible with deriving pleasure from hurting that being for its own sake since caring about inflicting suffering would be incompatible with not caring.[10]
^. Oxforddictionaries.com. 2013-08-13. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
^The Myth Of Evil: Demonizing The Enemy, Phillip Cole, 1st january 2006
External links
Look up cruelty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Cruelty.
January 20, 2023
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For other uses see Cruelty disambiguation Cruel redirects here For other meanings see Cruel disambiguation Look up cruelty in Wiktionary the free dictionary This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed May 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia See Wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions May 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia s quality standards You can help The talk page may contain suggestions November 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Cruelty is the pleasure in inflicting suffering or inaction towards another s suffering when a clear remedy is readily available 1 Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve violence but affirmative violence is not necessary for an act to be cruel For example if a person is drowning and begging for help and another person is able to help with no cost or risk but is merely watching with disinterest or perhaps mischievous amusement that person is being cruel rather than violent An old poster depicting cruelty including selling slaves in Algiers execution burning and other cruelties George Eliot stated that cruelty like every other vice requires no motive outside itself it only requires opportunity 2 Bertrand Russell stated that the infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists That is why they invented Hell 2 Gilbert K Chesterton stated that cruelty is perhaps the worst kind of sin Intellectual cruelty is certainly the worst kind of cruelty 2 The word has metaphorical uses for example The cliffs remained cruel i e unclimbable when they desperately needed to be climbed in The Lord of the Rings Contents 1 Four conceptions of cruelty 2 Usage in law 3 Etymology 4 Criticism 5 See also 6 References 7 Notes 8 External linksFour conceptions of cruelty EditThere are four distinct conceptions of cruelty The differences between these conceptions of cruelty rest on the types of agency victimization causality and values that they employ 3 The first is the agent objective conception which is exemplified by agency that goes above in degree and beyond in type the suffering allowed by applicable norms 3 Under this conception the victim suffered cruelty in light of the objective character of the act or treatment she was subjected to Cruelty in this sense is defined as an inclination of the mind toward the side of harshness 3 Any punishment or other treatment that surpasses the scope of sufficiency and ventures into possibility is classified as excessive and therefore cruel The second conception is agent subjective in which cruelty obtains only when the agent s deviant behavior is accompanied by the fault of character consisting in deriving personal delight from causing and witnessing suffering 3 This conception is best understood under the presumption that punishment or other violence is a means to restore the offset in the cosmic order of the universe caused by wrongdoing Anything that goes beyond what is necessary for this restoration then is cruel the peace and harmony is not balanced with excessive punishment or violence the scale of wrongdoing merely tips to the other side For example the Eighth Amendment of the U S Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment which means that we must inquire into a prison official s state of mind when determining that the agent is not taking pleasure in inflicting pain and that punishment does not exceed the crime 3 The third conception is victim subjective in which the element of cruelty rests in the victim s intense experience of suffering 3 Here the pain or the sense of degradation and humiliation experienced particularly and uniquely by the victim is considered Recognizing cruelty then requires reference to our compassion rather than some normative standard of reasonableness Continuing with the example of punishment the state s intention is not relevant in determining whether a punishment is cruel According to the law ill treatment must attain a minimum level of severity and this minimum is determined by all the circumstances of the case such as the duration of the treatment its physical or mental effects and in some cases the sex age and state of health of the victim etc 3 The fourth and final conception is the accumulation of all the prior conceptions the victim objective and agent independent This conception refers to severe violations of the respect recognition and care that the unconditional and inherent dignity of each and every individual command 3 Under this view cruelty occurs when a grave violation of human dignity that in normal circumstances would amount to cruelty is caused by individuals or by the operation of impersonal institutions structures or social processes even if the victim is unaware of his predicament 3 Beyond serving as an analytical framework these four conceptions the distinctive features of each as well as their collective evolution reflect the reality that the phenomenon of cruelty is a human made problem that calls for preventive and corrective responses 3 Usage in law EditThe term cruelty is often used in law and criminology with regard to the treatment of animals children spouses and prisoners 4 When cruelty to animals is discussed it often refers to unnecessary suffering In criminal law it refers to punishment torture victimization draconian measures and cruel and unusual punishment 5 6 In divorce cases many jurisdictions permit a cause of action for cruel and inhumane treatment 7 In law cruelty is the infliction of physical or mental distress especially when considered a determinant in granting a divorce 8 Etymology EditThe term comes from Middle English via the Old French term crualte which is based on Latin crudelitas from crudelis 9 Criticism EditOne criticism of the concept of cruelty points at the concept of conflating disregard for others with hurting others for its own sake arguing that the two are mutually exclusive as total disregard for what another being feels be it a human or non human would be incompatible with deriving pleasure from hurting that being for its own sake since caring about inflicting suffering would be incompatible with not caring 10 See also EditAbuse Cruelty free Schadenfreude Spite The Four Stages of Cruelty Theatre of CrueltyReferences EditPaulo Barrozo 3 Cruelty in Criminal Law Four Conceptions 51 CRIM L BULLETIN 5 2015 Simon Baron Cohen The Science of Evil On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty Basic Books 2011 Reviewed in The Montreal Review Susan Sontag Regarding the Pain of Others 2003 Notes Edit Definition of CRUEL www merriam webster com Retrieved 2019 03 17 a b c Cruelty Quotes BrainyQuote Retrieved 2013 08 18 a b c d e f g h i j k Barrozo Paulo 2015 Cruelty in Criminal Law Four Conceptions Crim L Bulletin 51 5 1025 1073 SSRN 2663837 Cruelty Law com Retrieved July 12 2012 Cruelty to animals Law com Retrieved July 12 2012 Animal Cruelty Law amp Legal Definition USLegal com Retrieved July 12 2012 Cruel and Inhuman Treatment Law amp Legal Definition USLegal com Retrieved July 12 2012 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Fourth Edition copyright c 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company Updated in 2009 Published by Houghton Mifflin Company cruelty definition of cruelty in Oxford dictionary British amp World English Oxforddictionaries com 2013 08 13 Archived from the original on July 15 2012 Retrieved 2013 08 18 The Myth Of Evil Demonizing The Enemy Phillip Cole 1st january 2006External links Edit Look up cruelty in Wiktionary the free dictionary Wikiquote has quotations related to Cruelty Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cruelty amp oldid 1107956603, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
