DEREK S. JEFFREYS
- Professor of Humanistic Studies and Religion at The University of Wisconsin, Green Bay -
THE BOOKS
“Jeffreys fills an important gap in the national debate on torture by addressing its moral and spiritual dimensions at a moment when these have all too often been overlooked in favor of doing ‘whatever it takes.’ He writes with admirable clarity and conviction.”
--Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side: How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
Spirituality in Dark Places: The Ethics of Solitary Confinement
ISBN-13: 9781137308610
Spirituality in Dark Places explores the spiritual consequences and ethics of modern solitary confinement. Jeffreys emphasizes how solitary confinement damages our spiritual lives, focusing particularly on how it destroys our relationship to time and undermines our creativity. Solitary inmates experience profound temporal dislocation that erodes their personal identities. They are often isolated from music, art, and books, or find their creativity tightly controlled. Informed by experiences with inmates, chaplains, and employees in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Jeffreys also evaluates the ethics of solitary confinement, considering but ultimately rejecting the argument that punitive isolation justifiably expresses moral outrage at heinous crimes. Finally, Jeffreys proposes changes in solitary confinement in order to mitigate its profound damage to both prisoners and human dignity at large.
Spirituality and the Ethics of Torture
ISBN-13: 9780230617315
This book shows how torture spiritually assaults the person. The “war on terror” has sparked great debate about torture. What exactly is torture? Should we torture suspected terrorists if they have information about future violent acts? Defining torture carefully, the book defends the idea that all people are valuable, and rejects moral defenses of torture. It focuses particularly on practices like sensory deprivation, which perniciously attack the human psyche. It also calls for an absolute ban on all torture, and urges Americans to repent for the torture the U.S. committed in the “war on terror.”
Defending Human Dignity: John Paul II and Political Realism
ISBN-13: 9781587430923
Derek S. Jeffreys Engages Pope John Paul II's political writings appreciatively and critically, demonstrating how he prioritizes human dignity in spite of the political tendency to dominate others.