thumb|right |220 px |An old poster depicting cruelty, including selling slaves in [[Algiers, execution, burning, and other cruelties.]]

Cruelty is the intentional infliction of suffering or the inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept.

Etymology

The term comes from Middle English, via the Old French term "crualte", which is based on Latin "crudelitas", from "crudelis".

Usage in law

The term cruelty is often used in law and criminology with regard to the treatment of animals, children, spouses, and prisoners. 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. In divorce cases, many jurisdictions permit a cause of action for cruel and inhumane treatment.

In law, cruelty is "the infliction of physical or mental distress, especially when considered a determinant in granting a divorce." According to Barozzo, there are four distinct conceptions of cruelty in criminal law. “The differences between these conceptions of cruelty rest on the types of agency, victimization, causality, and values that they employ."

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.” Philosopher Bertrand Russell argued that almost all marriage customs involve cruelty towards those who do not follow them, meaning there was no rational basis for condemning one custom or another as sinful; he concluded that "the cruelty habitually practised in punishing it is unnecessary...the infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists. That is why they invented hell." Gilbert K. Chesterton stated that "cruelty is, perhaps, the worst kind of sin. Intellectual cruelty is certainly the worst kind of cruelty."

See also

  • Abuse
  • Cruelty-free
  • Everyday sadism
  • Sadism (disambiguation)
  • Schadenfreude
  • Spite
  • The Four Stages of Cruelty
  • Theatre of Cruelty

References

  • 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