Welcome, readers. The topic of this debate is related to the fictional universe found in the Harry Potter series.
Let's first begin this debate by understanding why Avada Kedavra (the killing curse), Crucio (the curse that tortures people), and the Imperius Curse (the mind control one) are considered unforgivable.
This curse is used to kill. While other spells can do this, this one is distinct: It requires the user to access an evil in their soul to perform, one that reaches a level of joy in malevolence. It also high level of skill to use, meaning that users need practice accessing that kind of evil in order to perform the curse. Barty Crouch (disguised as Mad-Eye Moody) in fourth book told the entire group of fourth-year students in his classroom they could "all get your wands out and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed."
We see this distinction in its method of killing as well: The killing curse rips the soul out of the body, rather than damaging the body so the soul leaves naturally. It's for this reason that its victims are left with no mark that could lead a muggle coroner to the cause of death. This is not a conventional curse; it is one made exclusively for killing (unlike, for example, the curse Expluso, which can be used to kill, but also for demolition).
The sensation of being hit by the cure is extremely painful, although not as painful as Crucio. In the seventh book, Harry Potter describes the feeling as "an iron-clad punch," however, he did not experience the full effect of the curse; the curse merely destroyed the horcrux embedded in Harry. Meanwhile, Lord Voldemort described the sensation as "pain beyond pain," although his soul was fragmented by his various horcruxes; thus his soul was prevented from entering the afterlife, keeping it a state of limbo between mortality and death. The level of pain would be somewhere in between the descriptions of Harry and Voldemort; nonetheless, it's likely one of the most painful experiences a wizard could endure.
This curse is used to torture. It also requires joy in malevolence. During the fifth book, Harry attempts to use the curse on Bellatrix Lestrange in retaliation for the murder of Sirius Black, but is unable to cast the curse due to his anger being "righteous anger." (He is able to cast the curse later, more on that in a bit).
In the fourth book, the sensation is described like this:
"It was pain beyond anything Harry had ever experienced; his very bones were on fire; his head was surely splitting along his scar... he wanted it to end... to black out... to die."
The pain from this curse can also cause permanent physical and mental injury to those who experience prolonged exposure, such as Frank and Alice Longbottom.
This curse is used to control. The case that this one requires joy in malevolence is unclear, as no
Harry Potter media states it clearly. However, it is strongly implied when Severus Snape describes all three curses (
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Unforgivable_Curses) as needing lot of skill and nerve to cast.
This claim is backed up by its near-exclusive use by dark wizards, and Harry's successful usage of the curse during a break-in at Gringotts Bank, where he was attempting to recover one of Voldemort's horcruxes. This was in the seventh book, where Harry had also become able to use Crucio, implying that his newfound ability to access a malevolent state of mind gave him the ability to use both. This is an association argument, but I argue this is an association J.K. Rowling intentionally embedded into the books.
It places victims in a state where they are fully obedient to their master, and willing to do any evil the master commands them to do, such as casting the other two curses.
NOTE: Even if it doesn't require joy in malevolence, it does enables the control of others in a way that enables the usage of the other two in a person that wouldn't normally be able to use them. As such, it is considered as severe as the first two by the Ministry of Magic.
What makes them unforgivable
-Evil in the soul
-Premeditated usage (because practice is needed to cast them)
-Being spells made for torture, killing, and controlling others to do the same
This is used to erase specific memories. While it can be wrongly used, its function is to keep the wizarding world hidden from muggles. It's so valuable that the Ministry of Magic has a position for those adept at casting it (
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Obliviator). It requires no evil in the soul to use, and it causes no pain.
Conclusion
Obliviate lacks the properties of unforgivable curses and has a legitimate use; it shouldn't be considered one.
(Also, the character limit here is quite limiting.)
30 days of voting is wack imo
Ah, I forgot. Was busy with college assignments.
Just noticed it was a full week. Yeah, I'll be fine.
Considering this one. Might finally put actual effort in a debate on this site for once. But I'm going to ensure my schedule is free enough before I do so.
I always thought unforgivable curses were based on real life severe crimes of murder, torture and making others do bad things.
I guess the writer thought of those as worst crimes.
I can see it as being less bad than killing curse.
Of course, the other two curses are more debatable.