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Applying negligence principles
Differences between positive and natural law
Importance of legal positivism
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Positive law can be defined as a written law that has been passed by a branch of government, regardless of whether it offends anyone's sense of right and wrong. Positivism separates law and morality (Mayer, Warner, Siedel, and Lieberman). Positivists believe that any ethical theories of morality, religion, and justice should play no role in the analysis of the law. Positivism has two values. First, by requiring that all law be written, it ensures that the government will clearly explain to the members of society their rights and obligations. In a legal system run with positivist beliefs, the accusers would never be unfairly surprised by the governments’ unwritten law. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments include this positivist value by requiring that all people receive notice of any pending legal actions against them so that they can prepare a defense. Second, positivism controls judicial preferences. In some cases judges are not satisfied with the outcome of a case. For example, some judges may not want to allow a landlord to evict a family with small children in the middle of winter, even if the law allows such action when rent is overdue. However, positivism requires judges to decide cases in agreement with the law. Positivists believe that the integrity of the law is maintained through a neutral and unbiased judiciary that is not guided by subjective ideas of fairness ("Free Dictionary by Farlax"). Now referring back to the case of Regina V. Dudley and Stephens, the two men would be found guilty based on positive law. The written law states that killing is illegal except in the case of self-defense. The boy who was killed was not harming any of the other men. Dudley and Stephens plotted against the boy to kill him, so in the e...
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... is right if it produces the greatest good for the majority of the people. If you think an action will bring the maximum amount of happiness to the most number of people, then it is the right thing to do. In the perspective the of the utilitarianism view Dudley was looking out for his group. He decided to that killing of the boy and eating his flesh would bring the most amount of happiness to his group. In my opinion I would still find the men guilty because Dudley had his own interest in mind. The most frequent mistake people apply to utilitarianism is assuming that the greatest good for them or their company is in fact the greatest good for all. Dudley assumed killing the boy would be ethically ok but he in fact did not even ask the boys opinion on who to kill. If Dudley would have asked everyone in the boat their opinion this philosophy would then come into play.
"Ethical utilitarianism can most generally be described as the principle that states that the rightness or wrongness of action is determined by the goodness and badness of their consequences." (Utilitarianism EOP 9: 603.) Following this guide line the morally right decision to make is to rescue the group with five ...
John Stuart Mill’s utilitarian belief that the moral thing to do is that which creates the greatest amount of happiness to greatest number of people, as well as, Immanuel Kant’s belief that murder is always morally wrong. In Rescue II, where the one individual is trapped on the path leading to the party of the five that need to be rescued; John Stuart Mill would suggest running over the one individual to save the party of five. His belief that saving the party of five would create the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number people or vice versa; that saving the party of five would create the least amount of suffering to the least amount of people is absurd. While John Stuart Mill has a great point with his views; this is still considered murder and or killing. Murder is defined as the unlawful killing of one human being by another; and according to Immanuel Kant, the majority of the population, and the laws it is morally wrong. I concur that Immanuel Kant’s belief that murder is morally wrong. Kant says “I cannot, therefore, dispose in any way of a man in my own person so as to mutilate him, to damage or kill him” (Kant). This statement does in fact coincide with one of universal law. In no way, shape, or form would it be acceptable to murder one individual to save the lives of the party of five. Making the choice to prioritize the value of one individual’s life over
... believe that if the intent of the agent's actions is to try to maximize the greater good or to create the greatest net utility possible, then it does not matter whether or not one is successful in carrying out his/her chosen act. Lastly, questions of morality and whether what one is doing in upholding the utilitarian concepts is "right" hold no ground. This is because utilitarianism clearly states that if the act in question maximizes the net utility, without causing harm or pain to all considered, the real moral question becomes, "Wouldn't you be morally wrong in not carrying out said act?"
When I was working as a Customer Service Representative in the Bank, one of my responsibilities was to supervise the tellers. I was friends with two of the tellers working there at the time. We used to go out together outside of work and had great time. At some point I started noticing that they are being too friendly with each other and acting inappropriate for a professional environment. I decided to confront them and they confessed to me that they were dating. That is when I realized that I was faced with an ethical dilemma.
In utilitarianism the common goal is to create the most happiness for the most amount of people. Mills definition of the Greatest Happiness Principle “holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (540) If this principle is the case then as a utilitarian your actions of good should promote the most happiness. This way of thinking can really produce some wrong answers and actions to moral questions. For example, say you and your family are starving and in need of food. The only possible way to get food would be to steal it. In general society finds it morally wrong to steal under any circumstances. But as utilitarian you have to ask, would my actions of stealing food promote the most happiness for the most people. You need to take into account the people you are making happy and the people you are hurting. On one hand, you would be promoting happiness for you and your and entire family, and on the other hand, you would be hurting the storeowner by stealing some of his revenue. Utilitarian ideas tell you that you should steal the food because your actions are promoting happiness and the absence of pain for the least amount of people. There are other examples I found when doing some research like doctors going against morals to save more sick people by letting one healthy person die
Ethical issues are “moral challenges” facing the health care profession (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012, p. 127). Ethical issues is a major concern in the healthcare field because healthcare providers observe ethical issues every day and have to make ethical decisions. Advance directives are written documents that addressed an individual’s medical care preferences. These documents usually take effect when patients no longer can make informed health care decisions for themselves. While these documents are helpful to loved ones and health care providers, there are a number of ethical considerations that can make the development and execution of advance directives difficult (Llama, 2014). This author is a geriatric nurse that recently observed an advance directive ethical issue in the clinical setting. The purpose of this paper is to outline the steps of ethical decision-making within the seven steps for the framework. This paper will also identify the facts of the case from the perspective of each person impacted by the situation and identify which ethical principles were involved in the situation.
The main principle of utilitarianism is the greatest happiness principle. It states that, "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure" (Mill, 1863, Ch. 2, p330). In other words, it results with the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people that are involved.
In the following case, Luke is involved in a very perplexing conflict, or Ethical dilemma. This situation is an Ethical dilemma, and not just a regular “everyday” problem, because to Luke there might not be an obvious answer. He can also be thinking that both choices, keeping his commitments of confidentiality and telling his brother, Owen, are both correct things to do. If Luke tells his brother about the project, then he might concur with a theory known as Breach of confidentiality. “Breach of confidentiality occurs when someone gives away information that was supposed to be kept private.” (GENB4350 Online Lecture, Ethical Reasoning 1). By Luke breaching information that is supposed to be kept secret, he will betray the trust of his company
In the discussion of legal philosophy there is the ever occurring question “what is law”, many legal philosophers have attempted to answer such a question but I believe the one philosopher to change the field entirely was John Austin. John Austion was the first modern legal positivist (and possibly founding father) to present a contemporary theory of law. Austin’s main interest in the philosophy of law was differentiating the reality of the law from the normative or moral merit of law. This in sense is a scientific approach because positivism is an empirical approach to philosophy, which extends its use to the scientific method and other fields. None the less, my goal here is not to present an all-out account of Austin, but to present a comprehensive evaluation of legal positivism and present the issues I have found prominent in legal validity, whether it be with Hart, Austin or any other theorist.
Counselors are more prone to be confronted with clients who are suicidal or dealing with mental health issues that are causing them to be a danger to themselves and others. Therefore, it is essential for counselors to have the knowledge and skills in order to be prepared when confronted with a crisis situation. In addition, counselors must be able to identify risk factors for their clients to avoid any wrongdoings that can cause detrimental consequences. Because it is the counselor's ethical obligation to protect clients from unnecessary risk of harm. Essentially, without the adequate training in suicide assessment and intervention, counselors can engage in practices that are not in alignment with the counseling ethical standard “do no harm”.
Autonomy – The ideal of self-determination is the basis for autonomy. It is important that a patient be allowed to decide what should be done to his or her own body. In other words, nobody else has the right to assert their power over another. Likewise, a physician should be allowed to decide not to perform a procedure if doing so would conflict with his or her values. In the Cruzan case, Nancy’s autonomy by way of her parents’ substituted judgment was overridden in favor of the State of Missouri’s policy to preserve life. Although the Supreme Court did not deny that Nancy had the right to refuse nutrition/hydration, there was not enough clear and convincing evidence to know that refusal was what Nancy truly wanted. Also, the autonomy of the hospital staff was taken into consideration because they did not feel it was right to withdraw treatment without a court’s consent. At first glance, it may seem that Nancy’s autonomy was not taken into consideration because her parents had to wait so long for the courts to agree to withdraw nutrition/hydration. However, the courts were actually erring on the side of caution because there was no advance directive indicating refusal of treatment as an option. Once Nancy’s parents found three more witnesses to attest to her wishes, the Supreme Court agreed that Nancy would have wanted refusal of treatment.
Question One: Define natural law and positive law. What is the relationship between natural law and positive law? Natural law and positive law operate with similar intent yet have been developed separately, but in a manner in which they coexist. Positive law is the tangible system of “rules” in which society operates under. This form of rule abiding is set forth by two different branches, moral code and forms of law (Riddal, pg. 41). Moral obligation does not consist of a set punishing body when such rules are violated, but are subject to opposition from another party in the event of such code being breached, forcing pressure to conform. Such pressure is more explicitly present in legislative rules through various sanctions; heavily deterring
They refuted natural law theories and argue the claims of legal positivism that a norm became a legal rule only if it was posited by the state.
Natural law is also not a valid theory of law. Natural law is directly opposed to positivism. While positivists insist on a strict separation of law and morality, adherents of natural law insist on a clear link between the two. They believe that the operations of law and legality should be informed by God given values. However, this system is just too moral based. There are so many interpretations of nature, and we all have different sets of morals and values (which we are entitled to.) Regardless of our right to be entitled to our own morals and values, they should not have a place in court. While legal realism also relies partly on morals, it is not done to the extent of natural law. Legal realists argue that in order to understand the legal process, and make a decision, various factors (such as political, economic and social) must be taken into account. With legal realism, every little detail is considered, making it a reasonable legal theory. However, every legal theory has its pitfalls. There is always room for improvement, as no legal theory is perfect. With legal realism, judges are the authors of the law. There is a lot of responsibility and power in their hands when they are given the freedom to make their own judgements for cases. A great example of this is the case of Kim Davis. She attempted to deny marriage licenses to multiple homosexual couples, despite the
Everyone in this world has experienced an ethical dilemma in different situations and this may arise between one or more individuals. Ethical dilemma is a situation where people have to make complex decisions and are influenced based on personal interest, social environment or norms, and religious beliefs (“Strategic Leadership”, n.d.). The leaders and managers in the company should set guidelines to ensure employees are aware and have a better chance to solve and make ethical decisions. Employees are also responsible in understanding their ethical obligations in order to maintain a positive work environment. The purpose of this case study is to identify the dilemma and analyze different decisions to find ways on how a person should act