...Sullivan’s case was taken the United States Supreme Court and argued against cases of life in prison without possibility of parole for juveniles. Sullivan’s case did grant him relief, but currently he is still serving his life term. Aristotle’s Golden Mean is something to note with Sullivan’s case. Aristotle argues that the proper way to behave in an ethical or moral sense is in accordance with the mean (as stated in Banks, 2013, p, 291). Sullivan though mentally handicapped, Aristotle’s view would pose the question of what the “mean” would have been. Sullivan robbed an old woman. This would not be seen as ethical or moral. Bentham however would be looking at the people and the pain it may have caused. Banks (2013) “In other words, we...
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...Capital Punishment; Revenge or Desert? A Study of Capital Punishment And the Moral Dilemmas it Presents MODR 1760 Professor Dr. Jason C. Robinson March 31, 2014 Capital punishment is the legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state, as a means of punishment for having committed a capital crime. In this essay, I will discuss some of the main advantages and disadvantages of capital punishment and whether capital punishment is a morally and ethically viable approach to punishment. I hold a firmly retentionist position and believe that the most just and fitting punishment for one who has committed a capital offence would be the death penalty. I will support my position with statistics showing that capital punishment has successfully been used to deter people from committing capital crimes. As well, I will discuss various philosophies regarding the morals of execution and punishment in general. My goal in writing this paper is not to force abolitionist thinkers to change their position with regards to capital punishment, but rather to show abolitionist thinkers that there is another way to look at capital punishment. Two of the main principles that are used to support the retentionist philosophy are deterrence and retributivism. Deterrence is the theory that the death penalty is morally just because it will deter would-be murderers from committing capital crimes, which carry a sentence of execution. Retributivism is the idea that criminals should be punished...
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...consequently there is no equality between crime and the retribution unless the criminal is judicially condemned and put to death." Immanuel Kant. About 2000 men, women, and teenagers currently wait on America's "Death Row." Their time grows shorter as federal and state courts increasingly ratify death penalty laws, allowing executions to proceed at an accelerated rate. It's unlikely that any of these executions will make the front page, having become more and more a matter of routine in the last decade. Indeed, recent public opinion polls show a wide margin of support for the death penalty. But human rights advocates continue to decry the immorality of state-sanctioned killing in the U.S., the only western industrialized country that continues to use the death penalty. Is capital punishment moral? Capital punishment is often defended on the grounds by the government, that society has a moral obligation to protect the safety and the welfare of its citizens. Murderers threaten this safety and welfare. Only by putting murderers to death can society ensure that convicted killers do not kill again. Second, those favoring capital punishment contend that society should support those practices that will bring about the greatest balance of good over evil, and capital punishment is one such practice. Capital punishment benefits society because it may deter violent crime. While it is difficult to produce direct evidence to support this claim...
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...Capital Punishment Capital punishment has been the center of much controversy dating back to its origins. Although the roots of capital punishment can be traced as far back as the life of Christ, arguments over its effectiveness and morality continue in the midst of its existence today. There are many people who have come up with reasonable arguments for both sides of the issue. Most people who believe that the death penalty is a fair punishment use the argument, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, an arm for an arm, a life for a life." Otherwise known as Hamarabi’s Code. While most people who are in opposition use the argument that capital punishment is a cruel and unusual punishment which violates the eighth amendment to the United States Constitution. In the times surrounding the origins of capital punishment, it was used for a wide variety of crimes. Capital punishment can also be found in the Bible. The Bible prescribed the death penalty for crimes such as murder, kidnapping and witchcraft. By 1500 AD, in England, only major felonies carried the death penalty: treason, murder, larceny, burglary, rape, and arson. (Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia, 1989) The United States inherited capital punishment from European settlers in the seventeenth century. They promoted the idea that heinous crimes deserved severe punishment. And this is what brought capital punishment to its present standing. In the United States justice system a proportionate punishment is achieved, in the...
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...Kantian Morals, Utilitarianism, and Basic Human Rights As we continue to study the origin of moral theory, we come across two very influential philosophers; Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. Both have very opposing ideologies concerning morality and basic human rights, but they have certainly contributed much to the way we work as a society today. In this paper, we will look at both theories more in depth. First we will look at Kant. According to Kantian Ethics, what gives an action it’s moral value is the agent’s respect for moral duty; In other words, the agent must be completely selfless in his action in order for it to be considered moral. Consequences do not matter, the “good will” of a person is the only thing with intrinsic value. A person must act out of only intention to do good; not for personal gain, but because they know it is the right thing to do.(Kant Slides). This theory is impartial to all, there are no exceptions. In order to establish whether an action is moral, the act must follow two categorical imperatives (universal commands): -Categorical Imperative I states: “Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become universal law...”(Kant, 414). In accordance with this imperative, you must first state your maxim (the rule which states your action) and decide whether or not the rule can become a universal law. If it can, in fact, be a universal law by which all of humanity abides, then it is a moral act. For...
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...a crime, there should be a punishment. Because of one should be escaped from law. The purpose of punishment to make the society safer for its people. In fact punishing the offenders is a primary function of all civil stales. The way and purpose of punishment may be of different types. But where the matter of the offence is very severe, obviously punishment should be very severe. Death sentence has been used an on effective weapon of retributive Justice for centuries. The Justification advanced is that it is lawful to forfeit the life of a person who takes a way another's life. Death penalty has been a way of punishing people since ages. Although there are some countries that have abolished death penalty from their law, there are still many which still practice the act of killing a person for crime. Death penalty is prevalent in the US, Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Some of the ways of executing criminals are hanging, shooting, electrocution and giving lethal injections. People have different opinions on the issue of death penalty given to a convict. While some think that death penalty is necessary for those who have committed a terrible crime, there are others who consider it as an immoral act that goes against the values of humanity. Capital Punishment Death penalty is considered as capital punishment. Section 54 of the Penal Code, 1860, deals with communication of sentence of death. This is the most severe form of corporal punishment as it requires law enforcement...
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...For the capital punishment The death penalty is an issue that has the United States quite divided. While there are many supporters of it, there is also a large amount of opposition. Currently, there are thirty-three states in which the death penalty is legal and seventeen states that have abolished it (Death Penalty Information Center). I believe the death penalty should be legal throughout the nation. There are many reasons as to why I believe the death penalty should be legalized in all states, including deterrence, retribution, and morality; and because opposing arguments do not hold up, I will refute the ideas that the death penalty is unconstitutional, irrevocable mistakes are made, and that there is a huge gap of race and income level. Putting people to death, judged to have committed certain crimes, is a practice that’s been around for a long time. In the later half of the twentieth century, it has become a controversial issue. Statistics prove consisted application of the death penalty deter crime. No executed murdered has ever killed again. For many years, Criminologists have thought to believe the death penalty has no affect as deterrence to homicides. From 1972-1976, a suspension was place on capital punishment. The United States had 9,140 murders in 1960 where 56 people were executed. Nine years later in 1969 where the United States had zero executions, there were 14,590 murders. After only 2 executions since 1976, murders raised to 23,040. If murderers are sentenced...
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...Lucious Davis PHI200: Mind and Machine Instructor: Michelle Loudermilk October 10, 2011 The United States is still one of the countries that still use the death penalty as punishment for crimes. While some see it as barbaric and totally against American values, others view it as an important deterrent to violent crimes- such as murder. Regardless of which side you are on, one thing is for sure- the debate isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Capital punishment, another name for the death penalty, has been present in the United States since 1608. This is the process by which a person a person is tried and put to death for crimes they have committed. The list of crimes that are punishable by death vary from state to state (the U.S. government and the U.S. military have their own criteria), as well as the methods used for execution. Lethal injection is the standard for execution, but there are several other methods used, including: electrocution, hanging, and death by firing squad. Although every state does not employ the death penalty- a vast majority do. Along with the District of Columbia and the U.S. government, 36 states currently have the power to execute inmates. Through the centuries there has been endless debate about the morality, legality, and constitutionality of capital punishment. For many (and for my paper’s sake) the debate is whether or not the death penalty is ethical. Specifically, is it ethical to put someone to death for a crime that they committed...
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...Conservatism does not have one single viewpoint or stance on human nature or imperfection as Conservatism as a whole encompasses different strands or beliefs within it. For example One Nation conservatives have a different philosophy on human imperfection than New Right conservatives do. One Nation conservatives hold the belief that we as humans are: greedy and have a limited capacity for altruism, a complex mix of emotions and contradictory motivations making us irrational, not totally consistent and are at balance the majority of the time with corruption. They believe that our inherent imperfect human nature stems from original sin, the Christian Belief. This shows a wholesome negative outlook on human nature. The New Right on the other hand is more positive as a result of the neo-liberal ideological view that we are in fact rational, shown by the classical liberal belief in self-regulating society and a ‘realm of coercion’. However, as the New Right is a marriage of neo-liberal and neo-conservative views there is also the negative view of human nature present, as held by traditional conservatives. At the heart of the debate, obviously is whether or not conservatism is a philosophy of imperfection, it is my view that it is a philosophy of imperfection to a large extent, as I will explain now. To begin, it is important to quote O’Sullivan who in 1976 said that conservatism is a ‘philosophy of imperfection. He said this, as unlike many ideologies which believe that humans are...
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...actions performed to achieve those goals. Deontology, as a general horizon of articulating the ethical theories, believes on the contrary that in every moment of our existence, every action or deed that we accomplish can be described as moral or non-moral according to the ethical principles underlying our behavior. The very important consequences arising from the two general theoretical horizons concern two different perspectives on “human nature”, or what we call the essence of the human being. Starting from this horizon we will have the consequentialist and deontological dimensions related to euthanasia. The bioethical dimension in which we will discuss the issue of euthanasia involves both dimensions or horizons. The arguments against euthanasia seem to rely rather on the Kantian deontological horizon, while euthanasia pros seem to rely on the consequentialist horizon. This text is intended as an open debate between the two horizons which cannot yet be harmonized. There is at least one class of existential situations in which euthanasia is described as “desirable” in a consequentialist view and there are situations...
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...Russell Ellis Simerly III AP European History Chapter 17—The Age of Enlightenment: Eighteenth Century Thought Chapter Overview: The Enlightenment is a movement of people and ideas that fostered the expansion of literate sectors of European society and that economic improvement and political reform were both possible and desirable. Contemporary western political and economic thought is a product of Enlightenment thinking; therefore, some historians believe the process of Enlightenment continues today. Inspired by the scientific revolution and prepared to challenge traditional intellectual and theological authority, Enlightenment writers believed that human beings can comprehend the operation of physical nature and mold it to achieve material and moral improvement, economic growth, and administrative reform. Enlightenment intellectuals advocated agricultural improvement, commercial society, expanding consumption, and the application of innovative rational methods to traditional social and economic practices. The spirit of innovation and improvement came to characterize modern Europe and Western society. Politically, the Enlightenment had a direct impact on some rulers--in eastern and central Europe—whose policies came to be known as enlightened absolutism. Section One: Formative Influences of the Enlightenment Section Overview Chief factors that fostered the ideas of the Enlightenment The Newtonian worldview the political stability and...
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... and what they mean. Are they merely social inventions? Do they involve more than expressions of our individual emotions? Metaethical answers to these questions focus on the issues of universal truths, the will of God, the role of reason in ethical judgments, and the meaning of ethical terms themselves. Normative ethics takes on a more practical task, which is to arrive at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. This may involve articulating the good habits that we should acquire, the duties that we should follow, or the consequences of our behavior on others. Finally, applied ethics involves examining specific controversial issues, such as abortion, infanticide, animal rights, environmental concerns, homosexuality, capital punishment, or nuclear war. By using the conceptual tools of metaethics and normative ethics, discussions in applied ethics try to resolve these controversial issues. The lines of distinction between metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics are often blurry. For example, the issue of abortion is an applied ethical topic since it involves a specific type of controversial behavior. But it also depends on more general normative principles, such as the right of self-rule and the right to life, which are litmus tests for determining the morality of that procedure. The issue also rests on metaethical issues such as, “where do rights come from?” and “what kind of beings have rights?” 1. Metaethics The term “meta” means after or beyond...
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...Utilitarian Ethical Analysis (Kyle Lozito) 8 Kantian Ethical Analysis (Christian Varillas) 14 Additional Ethical Analysis (Natalie Rondon). 18 Social Responsibility Section (Shirley Simmonds). 20 Conclusion (Natalie Rondon). 25 References. 26 Abstract This is a library research paper on the integrating values of Wal-Marts to sex discrimination and pay lawsuits that Wal-Mart has encountered over the years. The paper will discuss the legality of the situation and how Wal-Mart might be able to fix the issues that they are having. The paper will also discuss Utilitarian ethical analysis, Kantian ethical analysis and Socrates and the Socratic method. It will go into detail if Wal-Mart as a company has acted ethical or moral against its employees based on the ethical analysis just listed. Social Responsibility will also be discussed and will be given examples on if Wal-Mart gives back to the community or other organizations. Introduction Wal-Mart has seen lawsuits after lawsuits over the years. Why has this been occurring to them? Are they a bad company, immoral or unethical? Is Wal-Mart actually committing illegal crimes? This will be discussed...
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...the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation ● a set of moral principles or values ● a theory or system of moral values 2 ● the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group. Ethics, in all of these definitions, is concerned with right or wrong behavior. This reading focuses on the discipline or study of ethics. 1. THE DISCIPLINE OF ETHICS This discipline consists of the examination and evaluation of actions, social practices, institutions, and systems to determine whether and why they are good or bad, right or wrong, and whether they should be promoted or reformed—in short, whether particular actions, practices, or systems are moral or immoral. For example, ethics examines whether capital punishment is morally acceptable and why. The discipline...
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...mTELECOURSE STUDY GUIDE FOR The Examined Life FOURTH EDITION author J. P. White Chair, Department of Philosophy Santa Barbara City College contributing author Manuel Velasquez Professor of Philosophy Santa Clara University This Telecourse Study Guide for The Examined Life is part of a collegelevel introduction to philosophy telecourse developed in conjunction with the video series The Examined Life, and the text Philosophy: A Text with Readings, tenth edition, by Manuel Velasquez, The Charles Dirksen Professor, Santa Clara University. The television series The Examined Life was designed and produced by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, Netherlands Educational Broadcasting Corporation (TELEAC/NOT), and Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company (UR) Copyright © 2007, 2005, 2002, 1999 by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, 150 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 300, Pasadena, California 91105-1937. ISBN: 0-495-10302-0 Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Lesson One — What is Philosophy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....
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