Morality and the Law - 3154 Words

Morality and the Law The United States likes to think of itself as a highly evolved nation and that its judicial process is one of the fairest and least corrupt in the world. That might in fact be true but it by no means makes the American judicial system perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Part of the flawed aspects of the court systems and legislative systems in America has to do with the fact that so much is open to interpretation. Atkins v. Virginia is a case which is classically controversial. Some view it as a shining example where the highest court in the land was able to rule with a sense of humanity and rightness which reflected the greater morality at stake. Others viewed it as a failure on all count and a complete absence of justice. This paper will examine the two sides of this coin, demonstrating how this case makes a huge influence on the eternal debate of the connection between morality and the law. Atkins v. Virginia, which ruled it would be a violation of the constitution to exec ute a mentally retarded criminal convicted of first degree murder, does indeed have a tremendous amount of bearing on the central debate between natural law theorists and legal positivists. The central contention between natural law theorists and legal positivists is as follows: natural law theorists believe in the inherent bond between the law and morality; legal positivists do not. This case demonstrates the inherent morality present within the constitution andShow MoreRelated Law And Morality Essay2110 Words   |  9 Pages Law and Morality It is not an everyday occurrence that someone must decide the fate of anothers life. The dilemma of making a decision that someone must die in order for the others to survive, can obviously be troubling. The process in which the termination of ones life may be easy to make, but to justify that decision is the most difficult one. This paper is given a situation in which a decision of taking ones life is essential. The situation is that a nuclear war has occurred, which has destroyedRead MoreLaw Morality Essay2211 Words   |  9 PagesConsider the view that there is a close relationship between law and morality. Examine the debate as to whether the law should reflect moral values, and discuss issues, which show the continuing importance of that debate. (30marks + 5 for AO3) A definition of law adapted from LB Curzon, Dictionary of Law states â€Å" the law is a set of rules which are binding among the people of a community or a state, so that they will be imposed upon and enforced among those persons by appropriate sanctions†.Read MoreMorality and Law in Cyberspace1800 Words   |  8 PagesJournal of Business Ethics Education 8: 431-434.  © 2011 NeilsonJournals Publishing. Book Review - Cyberethics: Morality and Law in Cyberspace, 4th Edition by Richard Spinello, Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2003 Jeffrey A. Roberts Duquesne University, USA In the fourth edition of CyberEthics: Morality and Law in Cyberspace David Spinello continues a long and rich tradition of contribution to the field of ethics education and research. In this most recent edition, Spinello, a managementRead MoreShould Law Improve Morality? Essay1291 Words   |  6 PagesIn â€Å"Should law improve morality?† Leslie Green argues, firstly, that law is capable of having causal impact on the nature of social morality and, secondly, that one of the functions of law should be the betterment of morality. In maintaining that the law ought to be intimately connected to morality, it appears as though Green is advocating for a modern version of the natural law perspective. 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WHAT IS MORALITY? â€Å"Law would not be really imperative, we know, unless behind the sword of the magistrate, the bulk of mankind felt the weight of social obligation, the irresistible burden of custom, of immemorial tradition, and the like, a social, and even a religious sanctity. The connection of law and morality has been much discussed ever since the revival of the scientific study of jurisprudence, but the question is not yet, and perhaps never will be, settled. Every variety of opinionRead MoreThe Relationship Between Law And Morality909 Words   |  4 PagesThe relationship between law and morality is that law is specific and straight forward, whereas morality concentrates on what is wrong and right which makes it vague. Lord Patrick Devlin and John Stuart Mill have different opinions on law and morality. Devlin believes that we may not need common religion but need common morality and also that society should be prevented from harm. It should matter what society thinks about the good and right. Devlin is incorrect. As Mill would agree, the ultimateRead MoreThe Morality Of Law By John Finnis929 Words   |  4 PagesFinnis, a naturalist, who proposes that humans need law to help them achieve their own â€Å"projects† in life and any rule that hi nders them from doing so can be rightfully disobeyed given that it doesn’t cause a social distortion. With all these adding up, we can see why he considers the procedure of lawmaking as the internal morality of law. An analogy was given by him with his principles of legality being labelled as the rules to using the tool, law. If the rules are not followed then the tool cannotRead MoreLaw, Morality And, And Sexual Orientation1431 Words   |  6 Pages‘Law, morality and â€Å"sexual orientation† is an essay dictating the wrongness of homosexuality by John Finnis. Through critical analysis of the essay the main points of Finnis’s argument and the flaws for the wrongness of homosexual conduct will be explored and analyzed. Finnis is considered a new natural law theist (Law, 2105), viewing this argument as an application of morality (Primoratz, 1999). Finnis attempts to convince us that his argument is not a myopic Roman Catholic view; by using the workRead Mo reMorality, Law, and Politics Essay2104 Words   |  9 PagesI can imagine a perfect world. A world where morality is of upmost importance in our dealings with each other, where morals are critically examined, and debated with reason as well as passion. This world would be a pinnacle of human achievement. A pinnacle that we are nowhere near. Why is this? Well, in todays society, morals are often associated with obeying the law, and since laws are legislated by politicians, they are subject to politics. Laws are not right in and of themselves, and morals are