Abstract
Images of the body in pain are the primary medium through which we come to know war, torture and other pain-producing activities. The Cartesian paradigm of subjectivity suggests that pain is an interior event that can only be imperfectly expressed through language or visuality. This creates a significant disjuncture between the body that experiences pain and the one who observes this body through the technologies of visual culture. The imperative to make pain visible is driven by the desire to access the pain of the other; but, in the context of the Cartesian subject, this access is simultaneously impossible. This article explores the ethics of using such imagery for projects that seek to resist or oppose war and torture, and suggests alternative ways of understanding and responding to bodies in pain. © 2007 Sage Publications.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 139-155 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Security Dialogue |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2007 |
Keywords
- Ethics
- Pain
- Subjectivity
- Torture
- War on Terror
