Law and morals essay

Law and morals essay

Reality TV and Morality. The traditional morals of any given society are the set of moral principles by which the majority of its members have lived over a long time, a consensus which that society has reached on what is considered law and morals essay and decent behavior. A precedent is created in the Judgment of case and it applies to future cases and rower courts. Contrary to Bentham, Aristotle a 4th century Greek philosopher based his ideas on the laws of nature. The first theory is natural law, which is based on morality, law and morals essay. There is no correct answer or side.

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They are a set of rules and boundaries that are established by authorities which must be obeyed, otherwise, a sanction may be given. Morals are beliefs, values and principles that are set by society or part of a society, determining what is right and wrong. Unlike legal rules, law and morals essay, compliance with moral rules is voluntary, that are often informally enforced through social or domestic pressure. Law and morals are both normative; they specify what should ideally be done and mark the boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable conduct. However, law and morals essay, the ways in which they both do this are different: laws are codes of conduct which a superior power has decided should be compulsory.

They are formally enforced by appointed authorities and relate to all members of society. Morals can be seen as a set of values which are not enforced by law. They define how one ought to act not how one must act and whilst they are not subject to moral enforcement, they can be informally imposed. Order custom essay Law and Morality with free plagiarism report. There are significant differences between moral rules and legal rules; whereas Laws can be introduced almost immediately by Parliament or the Courts, morals tend not to be backed by legal sanctions and are often reinforced by social pressures; such law and morals essay family and friends.

Compliance with moral rules is voluntary and there are often no formal punishments. Today we live in a diverse society which has meant that as morals have developed: they have become pluralistic and between individuals or social groups opinions on moral codes now vary. Within Christianity, acts such as abortion and euthanasia are strongly opposed, while other religious groups may not deem these as wrong. Similarly, in Hindu and Muslim communities arranged marriages are encouraged whilst in non-religious communities these are disfavoured. Furthermore, legal rules can enforce strict liability, law and morals essay, such as the requirement of wearing a seatbelt in a car or not exceeding a speed limit, whereas moral rules cannot- they can only be broken voluntarily, law and morals essay.

Legal and moral codes can coincide; law can often be seen reinforcing and seeking to uphold our moral values. However, this can be seen as a major problem as morals will consistently change over time, to reflect a change in attitudes, and the law and morals essay must attempt to keep up in these situations. An example of this can be seen in R v Rlaw and morals essay, which changed the law, so that rape within marriage became a crime. It was viewed that the wife was legally seen as almost the property of the husband, via the marriage agreement. This was view was morally outdated and wrong, yet the law was very slow in adapting this moral view.

Another example of how moral change has led to legal change is the case of Diane Blood. They had been trying to start a family and she arranged for sperm to be extracted from him. Following his death she attempted to use the sperm to become pregnant, but this was banned under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. She won the right to have the insemination carried out abroad. This was held to be incompatible with the human right to law and morals essay and family life and the law has since been changed. But for crimes such as parking violations they are not seen as immoral, whilst immoral acts such as adultery are not a criminal offence under UK law. If laws enforce morals, then we are faced with the problem that what one person considers immoral, another might not, making it harder to decide which viewpoint it should sanction.

This is established in the case of Gillick, where Mrs Gillick sought a declaration that what she saw as an immoral activity contraceptive advice and treatment available to girls under the age of consent was illegal regarding its immorality. There was a conflict, as some saw this as immoral as it would encourage underage sex whilst others felt that it was moral as underage sex would occur anyway, but this would help prevent unwanted pregnancies. This shows that if such conflict can arise between law and morality, then the two cannot be viewed as equal. There are various theories on what the relationship of law and morals should be. The first theory is natural law, which is based on morality.

This states that there is a higher law to which laws must conform and one should disregard an immoral law, unless doing so would lead to social unrest. Another theory is positivism, which holds a more scientific view of the law and states that if legislation law and morals essay been correctly made it should be obeyed even if it is immoral. Lord Devlin was a prominent judge and a supporter of natural law whereas the academic Professor Hart was a positivist, law and morals essay. He believed that law and morals should be separate and the state should not intervene to restrict the freedom of individuals. Devlin, on the other hand, was strongly opposed to the report on a natural law approach. He felt that society had a certain moral standard, which the law had a duty to support, as society would disintegrate without a common morality and this morality should be protected by the law.

This highlights his beliefs that law and morality are inseparable and the law should in fact intervene in order to support morality. He added that what the law is and what it should be are different issues. Contrary to Bentham, Aristotle a 4th century Greek philosopher based his ideas on the laws of nature. Despite that this act was chosen, they were prosecuted and convictions were upheld based on public policy to defend the morality of society. The law is therefore seen to attempt to uphold what it considers to be public morality, even if some may dispute the correctness of that moral code.

This is a contrast to the case of R v Wilson, at her request the defendant branded his initials on his wife with a hot knife. The scars led to him being charged with ABH S The differing approaches in these cases clearly show that judges are letting their own moral values affect their judgements. The courts often find themselves at the centre of hugely law and morals essay moral decisions involving life and death. They are often forced to decide between individual rights and moral codes. Diane Pretty contracted motor neuron disease and was confined to a wheel chair. She required no treatment to keep her alive, but had great difficulty talking, law and morals essay, eating and sleeping. She was concerned that her husband would be convicted of a serious criminal offence if he helped to end her life and sought the permission of the court for active euthanasia, law and morals essay.

The courts reluctantly refused her request. This relates to euthanasia which can be seen as both morally and legally wrong, reinforcing the idea that certain views in ociety share the same moral and legal opinion. This was allowed as it amounted to passive euthanasia which is legally acceptable. Society considers it wrong to take the life of another human being and these two cases reflect this moral viewpoint. In the case of Re ASiamese twins who had their major organs conjoined were both at risk of dying. However, separation of the twins would have led to the death of one of them. The parents were against the operation and wanted to put the girls fate in the hands of God. The courts however, intervened and decided the operation should go ahead; it was considered a successful operation if one girl survived while her weaker sister died.

The influence of both Hart and Devlin has continued into more recent cases further fuelling the debate as to whether law should enforce moral values or not. Hart has had influence on law and morals essay infamous Sexual Offences Act as well as reforms in legislation such as the Obscene Publications Act and the Divorce Law Reform Act A substantial body of English law is based on moral rules: there is a close relationship between law and morals, as the law does uphold moral values: the existence of laws that serve to defend basic values, such as laws against murder, rape and fraud prove that the two can work together. They both influence each other to a certain extent with the highly moral Ten Commandments being the basis for the UK legal systems most fundamentally law and morals essay laws.

On the other hand, alcohol or smoking restrictions do not reflect a moral code as they have no negative effect on other people. The extent to which law should be influenced by morality remains topical, as mentioned before with laws regarding same-sex marriage law and morals essay euthanasia. While it can be argued that a significant section of society has come to adopt the view taken by Professor Hart, there nevertheless remains a widely shared belief that weakening of the moral basis of the law is dangerous. This essay was written by a fellow student. You can use it as an example when writing your own essay or use it as a source, but you need cite it. Explore how the human body functions as one unit in harmony in order to life, law and morals essay.

Law and Morality. Free Essays - PhDessay. com, Dec 02, Accessed January 7, comDec Act I sees the introduction of three important characters of the play, each taking up a different approach to authority. The Duke, Angelo and Escalus all use their power in. Morality sometimes called "true morality" or "high morality" should be distinguished from those rules which are simply those which are considered necessary for the efficient running of a society. Krauthammer uses. EJBO Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies Vol, law and morals essay. Austen is particularly unusual among virtue ethicists past and present in according amiability so much importance, even though it is so obviously central to most people's lives working, if not.

With this in mind, law and morals essay, the most fundamental premise is that there. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. PhD Essay Law Crime Justice Law and Morality. Order original essay sample specially law and morals essay your assignment needs. get custom essay. Reality TV and Morality. Essay type Research. Morality and Mercy In Vienna: Characters Analysis, law and morals essay. The Relationship Between Religion and Morality. Torture: Morality and Terrorist, law and morals essay. Organizational Storytelling, Ethics, and Morality.

Law and morals essay and Law and morals essay. Morality Play Pattern in Pride and Prejudice. Relativism in Culture and Morality. Similar Topics Amendments Crime And Punishment Family History Safety Intellectual Property Sex Offenders Criminal Justice Foster Law and morals essay Natural Law Generation Wife Equality Mother Bully Gang Violence Against Women Punishment Burglary Aunt Exploratory. Save time and let our verified experts help you. Hire writer.

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The imposition of social values through the criminal system is a tempting, but unjustifiable, activity that should be guarded against at every level in the legal system. Generally social values are derived from belief systems, worldviews, or religious preferences. Although notions of right and wrong and moral preferences may be entirely reasonable at the level of the individual, or even a group, however a justice system based on equal treatment under the law has no room for justifying legal proceedings that are based on social values alone since social values are highly subjective to begin with.

This analysis will outline some of the dangerous consequences that can occur when subjective interpretations are allowed into legal sphere. Although it can be argued that all judgments have some subjective component to them, those that are based upon moral or religious opinions have a much larger subjective component than those that are based on sole consideration of the public good and how best to maintain a functioning society with individual rights and freedoms. Morality in Criminal Law The temptation to use the legal system to impose social constructs that are deemed moral has been persistent ever since the first legal system was created.

When power is concentrated then those in authority may wish to engage in social engineering to try to carve out the type of society that they personal deem as an ideal society. Unfortunately, when this is the case then the ideals of the lawmakers can be entirely based on unfair discrimination against various individuals or groups that practice beliefs or engage in activities that may seem morally offensive to those in a position of authority. However, at the same time these beliefs or activities may not cause any physical or other damage to the general public good.

Thus the question become that of balancing individual rights with a set of Has society the right to pass judgment at all on matters of morals? Ought there, in other words, to be a public morality , or are morals always a matter for private judgment? If society has the right to pass judgment, has it also the right to use the weapon of the law to enforce it? If so, ought it to use that weapon in all cases or only in some; and if only in some, on what principles should it distinguish? The first question posed by Devlin is the most significant of the three. It is important to have a conceptualization of what is meant by the term "morals.

While some morals may also represent ethical principles, not all morals are necessarily ethical. The example of homosexuality is commonly provided to illustrate how some activities may be perfectly ethical yet entirely immoral as perceived through the lens of a specific belief system or culture that only applies to a certain group or worldview. For example, it is difficult to make a claim that homosexuality is unethical in any way if it is performed by two consenting adults. Homosexuality is commonly found in nature in many different species and there is ample evidence that it is a naturally occurring phenomenon.

However, many people feel that homosexuality is immoral due to their religious practices or personal preferences about sexuality. Homosexuality is a great example primarily because for many years the public opinion of the majority was against the practice of homosexuality. It hasn't been until fairly recently that public opinions have changed on the subject and have shifted to a…. Works Cited Devlin, P. Morals and Criminal Law. Dworkin, P. Liberty and Moralism. A tax professional would not face jail time for committing a crime if he or she is not informed of the client's deceit. They may however, have to endure years of auditing to ensure this does not happen again, resulting in a need for charging excessive fees to compensate for time lost during auditing.

This is damaging to the tax professional and the person s filing their taxes. As Calhoun,. Law and Philosophy Holmes' "bad man" theory offers insight into the difference between the law and morality. Compulsory compliance applies to judge made decisions as well. The case of R v R established that man could be found guilty of raping his wife, this was a Judge made law. Order custom essay Law and morals with free plagiarism report. Fuller would argue that this is not valid law as it is retrospective. Legal rules are made and take affect at a precise time.

A precedent is created in the Judgment of case and it applies to future cases and rower courts. The legislation will only start to take effect at a precise time for example the Smoke Free Premises and Enforcement Regulations , implemented a ban on smoking in public places , were made on 13th December but came in to effect on the 1st of July Phil Harris defines society 'Morality as a set of beliefs, values, principles and standards of behavior. Compliance with moral rules is voluntary, so people have a choice as to whether or not they follow these. People make personal decisions as to what they consider moral and immoral. Moral duties of Individuals ray. For example some people may believe that abortion is immoral while others consider It acceptable.

Moral rules develop gradually. They often stem from religious rules made thousands of years ago. Over time, what society once considered Immoral, can become acceptable. For example attitudes towards homosexuality continue to change Moral rules are enforced Informally , usually through social or domestic pressure for example John terry lost his title as the England football team captain because of his Infidelity Sir John Salmons describes the relationship teen law and morality as two Intersecting circles, with the Intersection representing laws with moral values and the separate areas for laws and morals with no connection.

Many laws have a moral connection such as the law against murdering another person this can be traced back to religious scriptures such as the 10 Commandments and is punishable by a mandatory life sentence Public morality can influence changes in the law, like abortion was legalized by the Abortions Act consenting adults as society changed to accept homosexuality the more law has followed this change by reducing the age of consent to make it the same for trousseaux couples in Law reform may result from a campaign to change public morality. Howard league for penal reform persuaded the government to take a look at capital punishment. The government refused to change the laws because society considered death penalty to be morally correct.

Subsequently a pressure group was set up, during the years of public opinion was changed by the campaign; and the government introduced laws to abolish the death penalty Public morality can be influenced by law reform such as the Disability Discrimination Act as by the Disability Discrimination Act , which makes it against the law to discriminate against disable people in any areas of employment, education , access to goods, facilities and services and the function of public authorities. It can be argued that legislation is introduced to with the aim of educating the public to recognize morally wrong behavior. Thus demonstrating the convergence between the two Some legal rules appear to have no moral connection. Like the fact that smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol is legal but cannabis is illegal.

Road traffic laws such as irking on a yellow line. In Britain there is no Good Samaritan law, however we all have a moral duty to help those around us if they are in danger. For example a passer-by will not be legally held responsible if they don't help someone drowning. But they do have a moral duty to help them this was shown in when 2 Peso's were subjected to bad media and moral outcry when they failed to help a drowning boy. The reason for divergence between moral and legal rules is that the moral attitude might not me widespread and they may not reflect popular morality The UK as a large multicultural, multiracial society, with citizens with different views on politics and religion.

For example some people regard abortion as immoral while others see it as acceptable for medical reasons only at the second reading of the human fertilization and embryology bill on may 20th MSP voted against reducing the current 24 weeks abortion limit to 20 weeks. Therefore demonstrating that although there is a relationship between Law and Morality it will always be partial. The committee said the function of the law is to pressure public order and decency and to protect citizens from what is offensive or injurious and to provide sufficient safeguards against exploitation and corruption of others, particularly those who are vulnerable.

The function of the committee is not to intervene in private life of citizens or to enforce any particular pattern of behavior. The committee made three proposals which were, homosexual acts between two concerting adults should e made legal, soliciting in the streets should be made an offence and selling of services for money should be a private matter. The Hart and Devils debate was prompted by the wolfed report by the wolfed report. The focus of the debate was the extent to which the law can enforce moral rules. Lord Devils set out his view in a book the enforcement of morals, with Hart setting up his views in his own book that the minority should not be made to conform to the view of the majority when in private.

Sir James Stephen argued in his book liberty, equality , fraternity that o shouldn't attempt to distinguish between self-regarding act and acts which regards others is like an attempt to distinguish between acts which happen in time and acts that may happen in space. The wolfed report supported Harts view that law and morality should be separate, however various cases decided since the report show that Judges are imposing their moral views on their Judgments, for example R v Brown. This is an example of how moral change led to legal change. Devil's views are in line with those of Sir James Stephen, as Devils believed that individual privacy should be respect. This essay was written by a fellow student. You can use it as an example when writing your own essay or use it as a source, but you need cite it.