...Jeremy Bentham is one of the foremost characters in the reform of corrections and rehabilitation of prisoners. He designed the famous panopticon style prison consisting of several cell blocks interconnected by a main administrative block. His design never really caught on in Europe, several prototype prisons were built, but only in America were any panopticon like prisons built. He was an advocate for prisoners’ rights, their education and health. Bentham defined the term “utilitarianism” meaning that everything should try to get “the greatest happiness of the greatest number”. He brought about change in British law trying to composing more humane, and compassionate prison laws. His views, though compassionate, often dealt with criminals as...
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...Define and discuss the classical school of criminology? In particular, address the contributions of Beccaria and Bentham to the debate about punishment and the impact of these contributions in modern corrections? Jennifer Summers Student Number: s2888608 Course: 2007CCJ Course Convenor: Dr John Rynne Course Tutor: Lisa Thomsen Due Date: 4th April 2014 Date Submitted: 4th April 2014 Criminological theories research and investigate a number of social and individual issues pertaining to the causes of crime, law and punishment. Classical criminology refers to a period of time known as the Enlightenment during the 18th century. The classical school was body of ideas with regards to the restructure and reform of punishment in the 18th century (Hyland, Gomez & Greensides, 2003) by a group of European philosophers and scholars, including Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. These two classical thinkers were at the forefront of criminal law and penal reform. This essay seeks to explore the role that Beccaria and Bentham had in the debate about punishment in their time and how their contributions have impacted modern corrections. To understand the contributions that Beccaria and Bentham made to classical criminology, it is fundamental to understand about the social conditions that existed when they were writing. The classical thinkers were rebelling against an arbitrary and corrupt system of law, in which the judges held and absolute and tyrannical power over those...
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...Punishment Print this Table of Contents S. No. | Content | Page No. | | Introduction | 3. | | Research Methodology | 4. | | Chapter 1: Utility of Punishment | 6. | | Chapter 2: Retributive Justice And Legitimacy | 10. | | Chapter 3: Can Capital Punishment Be Justified | 13 | | Chapter 4: Finding A Middle Way | 15. | | Conclusion | 17. | | Bibliography | 18. | Introduction Punishment entails the intentional infliction of pain or some type of deprivation in an institutionalized form that individuals would generally prefer to avoid. This requires justification to be morally acceptable. Attempts to provide justification for infliction of punishment are made by various punishment theories. Punishment theories generally can be separated into a handful of philosophical camps—consequentialist theories, non-consequentialist theories, and mixed (or hybrid) theories that contain both consequentialist and non-consequentialist elements. What distinguishes these theories is their focus and goals: Consequentialist theories are forward-looking, concerned with the future consequences of punishment; non-consequentialist theories are backward-looking, interested solely in past acts and mental states; and mixed theories are both forward- and backward-looking, with each hybrid placing a different emphasis on culpable past conduct versus future consequences. The present paper will briefly examine the two dominant consequentialist and non-consequentialist theories of criminal...
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...Utilitarianism ENG300 Information Literacy Assessment [Type the author name] This paper will discuss utilitarianism, its origins and how we can apply it to our lives today. I will show what would happen if everyone adopted this code of ethics and reasoning, and why I chose it. Utilitarianism What is Utilitarianism? According to our textbooks, utilitarianism is the ethical system which believes that which is ethical is what will bring the greatest good or happiness to the greatest number of people (Turner, 2006). In a direct quote from the American Heritage Dictionary, utilitarianism is the ethical theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham and James Mill that all action should be directed toward achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). Though there are many varieties of the view discussed, utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that the morally right action is the action that produces the most good. There are many ways to spell out this general claim. One thing to note is that the theory is a form of consequentialism: the right action is understood entirely in terms of consequences produced. What distinguishes utilitarianism from egoism has to do with the scope of the relevant consequences. On the utilitarian view one ought to maximize the overall good — that is, consider the good of others as well as one's own good (Driver, 2009).A well-known dialogue by Leonard...
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...kill the rebel leader himself and he along with the remaining rebels get let go. If he failed to do so, the commander and his troops will execute all the rebels, sack their village for anything of value, and leave Jim stranded in the rainforest with no supplies, resulting in almost certain death. Through analyzing the theory of ethical relativism, we were able to decide that Jim should in fact kill the rebel leader, but what if we analyze another ethical theory? Will we come up with the same answer as we did before? Or is it possible that through the research of different theories and ideas we can come up with a completely different response to Jim’s unusual predicament? Using a new theory, utilitarianism, or, the idea that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority, we can further analyze why Jim should still kill the rebel leader and why it is a better answer than if we were to use relativism. This paper will describe the ethical theory of utilitarianism in great detail, it will than be applied to Jim’s situation just like before, challenge opposing viewpoints of utilitarianism, refresh ourselves on why we originally picked relativism for Jim’s situation, and than we will analyze why utilitarianism, as opposed to relativism, is a better theory to use to aide Jim in his decision to execute the rebel leader. The theory of utilitarianism is fairly straightforward to understand, but we must define it in great detail in order to analyze why Jim should...
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...Logic Main article: Logic Logic is the study of the principles of correct reasoning. Arguments use either deductive reasoning or inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is when, given certain statements (called premises), other statements (called conclusions) are unavoidably implied. Rules of inferences from premises include the most popular method, modus ponens, where given “A” and “If A then B”, then “B” must be concluded. A common convention for a deductive argument is the syllogism. An argument is termed valid if its conclusion does indeed follow from its premises, whether the premises are true or not, while an argument is sound if its conclusion follows from premises that are true. Propositional logic uses premises that are propositions, which are declarations that are either true or false, while predicate logic uses more complex premises called formulae that contain variables. These can be assigned values or can be quantified as to when they apply with the universal quantifier (always apply) or the existential quantifier (applies at least once). Inductive reasoning makes conclusions or generalizations based on probabilistic reasoning. For example, if “90% of humans are right-handed” and “Joe is human” then “Joe is probably right-handed”. Fields in logic include mathematical logic (formal symbolic logic) and philosophical logic. Metaphysics Main article: Metaphysics Metaphysics is the study of the most general features of reality, such as existence, time, the relationship...
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...steered by Pilot Odom, and not Captain Stabler, in dense fog conditions could be viewed as negligent. Additionally, Odom admittedly was not adequately trained in the use of the towboat’s radar system. At the time of the accident, Amtrak’s conductor and assistant conductor were not in the wheelhouse of Amtrak’s engine Number 819 and the train, being guided by engineers, was traveling at a speed above authorization. Again, given the weather conditions, this could be viewed as negligent. Certainly, these two examples might not be illegal; however, the outcome of the incident “precipitated the filing of over one hundred personal injury and wrongful death suits against WGN, the pilot and captain of the Mauvilla, CSX and Amtrak.” (1999. Case Research Journal, H. Richard Eisenbeis, Sue Hanks, Bruce Barnett). Neither action alone caused the accident, but compounding those with the fog and the conscience decision of CSX to not install the sensors that detect bridge damage made them unethical decisions. Amtrak’s Sunset...
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...the lives of many Brazilian men and women. For many years, Brazilian women from African decent in particular have been regarded as the backbone of the church. Many congregations of churches are predominantly women, while spiritual leaders of many churches are nearly all male. Brazilian women have experienced a system of oppression, racism, and sexism, yet have remained supportive of their male counterparts. The significant contribution Brazilian women have made to the development of the Brazilian church often goes unnoticed. Although Brazilian women were not able to achieve ordination within the religious structure, their leadership and ability to persuade spiritual leaders made them an influential voice in the Brazilian church. This research paper will examine the roles of Brazilian women in the Brazilian Church in the progressive era with a particular interest in the early nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. During the progressive era, Brazilian women re-shaped the Brazilian church to a public political forum where Brazilians could engage in discourse and educate others, setting the stage for organized political movement. At the same time that middle-class Brazilian women were encouraging Brazilians to embrace “La Raca Negra” they were also endorsing the “politics of respectability” in their efforts to work for the uplift and reform of their own race. Ultimately, Brazilian women contradict their efforts to uplift the race by utilizing the Brazilian church as an...
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...As Gender Studies started to gain more academic respectability in the contemporary society and as many female scholars take actual participation in contributing women’s perspective to the field, the problem of “gender inequality” has risen to the surface. In this paper, I would like to specifically talk about how beauty ideals that have been set up for women play its role in creating an unequal power relation between men and women. For the sake of clarity, the beauty ideals I focus on this paper are not limited to the appearances but general expectations that society make of an “ideal women”. To begin with a simple example from today’s society, women are judged by their appearances more than their abilities, and to makes things worse, their appearances are compared with...
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...problem of factory farming, but it is still a long way from being fixed. Factory farms are used to produce everyday products like bacon, pork, steak, chicken nuggets, milk, cheese, etc. The cost of buying a burger at a local McDonalds is around one to three dollars. If companies were forced by legislation and government officials to practice proper farming techniques, the price of your beloved McDonald’s hamburger will be sure to rise. This could cause a brief stage of net losses for food manufacturing companies. I think it is mandatory to incur these extra expenses for the sake of humanity and animal rights. A small loss in profits is far less important than the pain and suffering these animals have to deal with on a daily basis. In this research paper I will discuss the ethical dilemmas and the conditions of the factory farms, as well as solutions to the problem of animals not having the proper rights. Main Points Animals come in all different shapes and sizes. Society debates how to classify some animals. Scientist view animals as operating equipment. Businessmen see them as commodities. Religious advocates classify them as God’s gift to us. And the majority of Americans see them as food. In America we cannot keep our minds off of cheap tasty food. With an exponential increasing obesity rate at 60 million, the US ranks in as the most obese nation in the world. Meat production has rapidly increased from 44 million tons in 1950, to 211 million in 1997. Also 90 percent of the poultry...
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...Does the United States present a Public Administrational model for the rest of the world for avoiding corruption? “Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of human life, and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish. This evil phenomenon is found in all countries… but it is in the developing world that its effects are most destructive. Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a Government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice and discouraging foreign aid and investment. Corruption is a key element in economic under-performance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development.” Koffi Anan, foreword, United Nations Convention against Corruption, 2003. When Democracy and central governance was formed in ancient Greece, it was for the very purpose of preventing the powerful few putting their needs above those of the masses they ruled – after all ‘Democracy’, stems from the Greek demos and kratia literally meaning the power of the people. For peoples familiar only with autocracies and hereditary monarchies, this was a radical notion. Why then, in some modern democracies, has the word government come to be almost synonymous with corruption? Corruption in government is...
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...Philosopher Research Paper John Stuart Mill Prepared for Professor Sandra Gates Kaplan University Prepared by Lea Geckler November 1, 2011 INTRODUCTION This report discusses the history, theories, proof and weaknesses of John Stuart Mill ideals on Utilitarianism. Mill believes that if people participate in ethical actions it will create pleasure in life, and that is what most people want in life is pleasure not pain. Utilitarian’s believe the only things worth having are pleasurable experiences. Unfortunately not all experiences are pleasurable and they cause pain. Utilitarian’s define good and evil in terms of ethical and non-ethical consequences of pleasure and pain. (Brooks & Dunn, Chapter 3 pg.150) Simply stated do the ethical action and be rewarded with pleasure or do the unethical actions and be rewarded with pain, which can be physical or mental. Mill explains that pleasure and pain can be qualitative and quantitative for example; if you have a project and it time consuming, stressful and mentally exhausting this is the quantitative aspect but getting recognition from your manager or top management on a job well done is the qualitative aspect and that is the pleasure. HISTORYOF JOHN STUART MILL Mill was educated by his father and Jeremy Bentham, the founder of Utilitarianism in modern ethical thought (Encyclopedia of Ethics). He learned Greek at the age of three, Latin by the age of 8, a competent logician by the age of 12 and by age 16...
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...difficult to understand Williams’ argument without making clear the charges he makes against utilitarianism and why they are considered to be effective attacks against the view. To get the clearest conception possible of the charges made, one should have a firm grasp of the utilitarian position so that one may successfully relate Williams’ criticisms to the theory. First, the utilitarian moral theory must be clearly formulated. Then I will present and clarify some of Williams’ objections against this theory. Finally, I will explore some utilitarian responses to Williams’ objections. Articulating Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a moral theory that is traditionally attributed to Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.[4] In his essay An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Bentham illustrates his view on the notion of utility by stating at the very beginning that: Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we...
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...Assignment 3: Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility Research Paper Due Week 6 and worth 250 points Dr. Do Right has recently been hired as the President of the “Universal Human Care Hospital”, where he oversees all departments with over 5,000 employees and over 20,000 patients at the medical facility. He has been provided with a broad set of duties and oversight of numerous departments, including business development, customer services, human resources, legal, patient advocacy, to name a few. He has managers in each department that he supervises and who work with him to address the needs of the various internal and external stakeholders of the hospital. Dr. Do Right discovers that some patients within the hospital have been dying as a result of a variety of illegal procedures by doctors and nurses, and negligent supervision and oversight on their part. This was brought to his attention in a few meetings and he told his Regional Director Compliance Manager and Executive Committee in January 2009. He was told by them that the matter would be investigated and they would report any findings to him as soon as possible. After two (2) years, there have been no results from the investigation and some patients are still passing away due to the negligent activities. He also answers to a board of trustees and interfaces with numerous community organizations and corporations who have various reasons for doing business with the hospital. Dr. Do Right continues to win awards for...
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...Utility means satisfaction which consumers derive from commodities and services by purchasing different units of money.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Ineconomics, utility is a measure of satisfaction;it refers to the total satisfaction received by a consumer from consuming a good or service. “Given this measure, one may speak meaningfully of increasing or decreasing utility, and thereby explain economic behavior in terms of attempts to increase one's utility. Utility is often affected by consumption of various goods and services, possession of wealth and spending of leisure time. According to Utilitarian’s, such as Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), theory “Society should aim to maximize the total utility of individuals, aiming for "the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people". Another theory forwarded by John Rawls (1921–2002) would have society maximize the utility of those with the lowest utility, raising them up to create a more equitable distribution across society. Utility is usually applied by economists in such constructs as the indifference curve, which plot the combination of commodities that an individual or a society would accept to maintain at given level of satisfaction. Individual utility and social utility can be construed as the value of a utility function and a social welfare function respectively. When coupled with production or commodity constraints, under some assumptions, these functions can be used to analyze...
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