Ethical Dilemmas Chapter 1-4

Deontological Systems

is one that is concerned solely with the inherent nature of the act being judged.

Situational Ethics

one must judge a person's actions by first putting oneself in the actor's situation

Utilitarian rationales for punishment

only supports punishment that benefits society.

Supergatories

Actions that are commendable but not required for a person to be considered moral."

Describe biological influences on ethical behavior.

Genetics evidently plays a role

Teleological Ethical System:

an ethical system that is concerned with the consequences or ends of an action to determine goodness

Care

based on caring, and what is good is a decision that considers the needs of everyone"

Good Under Ethical Formalism

" What is good is that which conforms to the categorical imperative."

"What are the three ways to know God's will?

" individual conscience or faith, religious authorities (priests, ministers, rabbis, Imans), and holy scriptures "

Rule Utilitarianism

" utilitarianism that determines the goodness of an action by measuring the utility of that action when it is made into a rule for behavior"

Good Under Religion

" what is good is that which conforms to God's will"

Good under Natural Law

" what is good is that which conforms to the natural laws of the universe"

Good under Ethics of Care

" what is good is that which meets the needs of those concerned"

Explain the controversy between relativism and absolutism (or universalism).

"- Absolutist ethics allow no exceptions to moral rules for special circumstances, although the principle of forfeiture is accepted" - "relativism seems to allow individuals to define anything as morally acceptable, even abhorrent acts like slavery. "

Aristotle associated status with justice."

"A person's dealings with others in all areas of life determined whether he could be considered just or unjust."

Describe the three themes included in the definition of justice.

Fairness. Equality. Impartiality.

"What are the three parts of the categorical imperative?

"Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. " - "Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of any other, never simply as a means but always at the same time as an end." - "Act as if you were, through your maxims, a lawmaking member of a kingdom of ends."

Substantive Justice

"Concerns just deserts or what is fair and equitable—for instance, the appropriate amount of punishment for a crime."

"Describe distributive. Identify how different systems under dis-tributive justice would allocate the resources of society"

"Economic goods (income or property)●● Opportunities for development (education or citizenship)●● recognition (honor or status)"

Give examples of how discretion permeates every phase of the criminal justice system and creates ethical dilemmas for criminal justice professionals.

"Legislators have the power to define certain acts as illegal and, therefore, punish-able" Police officers have the power to deprive people of their liberty (through arrest), and the power to decide which individuals to investigate and perhaps target for undercover operations." (Prosecutors) " They decide which charges to pursue and which to drop, which cases to take to a grand jury, how to prosecute a case, and whether to pursue the death penalty in homicide cases" Defense Attorney's : "After deciding whether to take a case or not, they decide whether to encourage a client to agree to a plea deal, what evidence to utilize and how to try the case, and whether to encourage a client to appeal" Judges : possess incredible power, typically employed through decisions to accept plea bargains, rule on evidence, and decide sentencing"

Duties

"Required behaviors or actions; that is, the responsibilities that are attached to a specific role."

What are the elements of any ethical system according to Baelz?

"They are prescriptive.", "They are authoritative", "They are logically impartial or universal."

Corrective justice.

"concerns unfair advantage or undeserved harm between people."

Describe retributive Rationales for Punishment

"demands that the criminal must suffer pain or loss proportional to what the victim was forced to suffer"

Natural Law

"good is determined by what is natural or consistent with natural inclinations, e.g., self preservation and sociability"

Virtue

"goodness is determined by the virtues."

Plato associated status with justice.

"maintaining the societal status quo"

Act Utilitarianism

"utilitarianism that determines the goodness of a particular act by measuring the utility (good) for all, but only for that specific act and without regard for future action"

"egoism"

"what is good is that which benefits me"

Good Under Viture

"what is good is that which conforms to the principles of the Golden Mean"

Good under Utilitarianism

"what is good is that which results in the greatest utility for the greatest number"

Distributive Justice

"what measurement should be used to allocate society's resources"

Describe civil disobedience and when it may be appropriate

- "Voluntarily breaking established laws based on one's moral beliefs" - individual truly believes the law to be wrong and therefore believes its enforcement or obedience to it would also be wrong."

Describe psychological theories that attempt to explain individual differences in behavior.

- "Wilson (1993) argued that values such as sympathy, fairness, self-control, and duty are moral "senses" that are inherent in humans and arise through a combination of genetics and socialization." - "Shermer (2004: 37) also argues that these traits are inherited, although he sup-ports a group selection argument—specifically, eons ago human groups that held these traits were more likely to survive than groups that did not."

Explain the concept of restorative justice and the programs associated with it.

- A term used to describe programs that seek to move compensation, instead of retribution, to center stage in the justice system." - (1) victim-offender mediation schemes; (2) conferencing based on the ancient concepts held by the Aboriginals in Australia and the Maoris in New Zealand; (3) peace circles, which were used by the First Nation people in Canada and some native U.S. Indian tribes; and (4) the realm of international crimes such as crimes against humanity"

Discuss the argument as to whether egoism is an ethical system.

- Egoism is not considered by many to be an ethical system because it is self-serving and logically inconsistent. "Proponents of ethical egoism also believe in psychological egoism—the idea that we are, by nature, purely self-interested."

Common Elements of Public servants in the Criminal Justice system

- They each have discretion—that is, the power to decide. Although the specific deci-sions are different, they all involve power over others and the potential deprivation of life, liberty, or property." - "They each have the duty of enforcing the law. Although this concept is obvious with police, it is also clear that each of the professionals mentioned has a basic duty to uphold and enforce all laws; they serve the law in their professional lives." - "They each have the duty of enforcing the law. Although this concept is obvious with police, it is also clear that each of the professionals mentioned has a basic duty to uphold and enforce all laws; they serve the law in their professional lives."

Explain why the study of ethics is important for criminal justice professionals.

- We study ethics because criminal justice is uniquely involved in coercion, which means there are many and varied opportunities to abuse such power - Almost all criminal justice professionals are public servants and, thus, owe special duties to the public they serve. -We study ethics to sensitize students to ethical issues and provide tools to help iden-tify and resolve the ethical dilemmas they may face in their professional lives"

"Describe rawls' system of distributive and corrective justice"

-Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of basic liber-ties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all. -Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both reasonably expected to be to everyone's advantage and attached to positions and offices open to all (except when inequality is to the advantage of those least well-off)."

Explain the difference between ethical issues and ethical dilemmas.

Ethical Issues: are broad social questions, often concerning the government's social control mechanisms and the impact on those governed." Ethical Dilemmas: situations in which one person must decide what to do. Either the right choice is not clear, or the right choice will be difficult because of the costs involved.

Values

Judgments of desirability, worth, or importance"

What are the three parts of the Ethical Pyramid?

Moral Judgement, Moral Rules, Ethical Systems

Morals

Principles of right and wrong

Describe what behaviors might be subject to moral/ethical judgments.

Relationships between Public/ Clients, Agency/Organization, Peers/Coworkers

Ethics

The discipline of determining good and evil and defining moral duties.

Ethical Formalism

The ethical system espoused by Kant that focuses on duty; holds that the only thing truly good is a good will, and that what is good is that which conforms to the categorical imperative.

Relatism

describes the position that what is good or bad changes depending on the individual or group, and that there are no moral absolutes"

Unitarianism

the greatest good is that which results in the greatest happiness for the greatest number; major proponents are Bentham and Mill"

Religion

through reference to conscience/faith, religious leaders, or religious doctrine, e.g., the Bible"

What are the Six Pillars of Character?"

trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship