Legally Defined 'Good' and 'Evil'

Maybe I have been listening to too much bad rhetoric lately, or maybe I am just a bit disturbed, but I just had an interesting discussion with a very Christian fellow student and out of that came an idea that, among all the places it doesn't fit, doesn't fit here least. Namely:

WI a western civilisation less detached from Christianity and religion in general decides to enshrine the concepts of Good and Evil in law?
(maybe a less pronouncedly antireligious Enlightenment followed by no French Revolution? I know there were strong sympathies for establishing faith, if not religion, in the US system, and the Brits technically still have vestiges). Would this play well in a jury system? I could see lawyers being required to take a two-semester course in moral theology, frex, or priests called as 'expert witnesses' on motive.

Other than that, what implications could this have? More attention paid to motive in criminal trials? Could Congress or Parliament change the definition with a two-thirds majority? I don't think they would, and I think the exact reading is safer in judicial hands anyway. Eventually, someone would build a polygraph and call it an 'evil detector' of course...

I think a society with a moral compass nailed down would be interesting. Any thoughts on the real-life applications this might have? Or is it just too weird to contemplate?
 
Man. This is really interesting. I'm gonna ask my philosophy professor about this. Get back to you later on it!
 
carlton_bach said:
I think a society with a moral compass nailed down would be interesting. Any thoughts on the real-life applications this might have? Or is it just too weird to contemplate?

Any compass nailed down only points in one direction. Anyone guided by such a compass always gets lost.
 
David S Poepoe said:
Any compass nailed down only points in one direction. Anyone guided by such a compass always gets lost.



When I was a kid we were taught the Golden Rule ( Do on to others what you would want others to do to you ) This simple rule always has worked for me , Also help those in need was taught to us , Rember helping those in need can mean open the door for some one who has packages check on a older neigbor to see if they need any help .

One of my neigbors is sick this coming thursday all his neigbors who are farmers are going over to plow his fields and plant for him . All we are asking for is when he gets well is if one of us is sick he will help us out .

Well maybe my compass is nailed down but I hope I;m not lost ? But if I am I would rather be lost than some of the neigbors in the housing complax next door to me are . A young Family that lives there lost the father this winter to a car accident my wife and myself have been helping them out with food and chores the peole in the housing unit have not help her and the kids at all . So I might be old fashtion . I see what I'm doing as Good and what they are doing as evil or just Bad .
 

Xen

Banned
Ward said:
When I was a kid we were taught the Golden Rule ( Do on to others what you would want others to do to you ) This simple rule always has worked for me , Also help those in need was taught to us , Rember helping those in need can mean open the door for some one who has packages check on a older neigbor to see if they need any help .

One of my neigbors is sick this coming thursday all his neigbors who are farmers are going over to plow his fields and plant for him . All we are asking for is when he gets well is if one of us is sick he will help us out .

Well maybe my compass is nailed down but I hope I;m not lost ? But if I am I would rather be lost than some of the neigbors in the housing complax next door to me are . A young Family that lives there lost the father this winter to a car accident my wife and myself have been helping them out with food and chores the peole in the housing unit have not help her and the kids at all . So I might be old fashtion . I see what I'm doing as Good and what they are doing as evil or just Bad .

Thats not nailing your compass down. Nailing your compass down is like saying stealing is always to be punished the same way. Like if someone steals to feed their family, or if someone steals to live a life of greater luxury. They shouldnt be punished the same should they?

In otherwords to have a legally defined "good" and "evil" youre just throwing a blanket over things and not taking them on an individual basis. Much injustice is done by this.
 
Good point. Ward your example is not that of one having their moral compass point nailed down. The gist of with WI is that what makes 'Good' and 'Evil' is set by law. That would mean that every year a new notice of what is what would be published in all the newspapers. Which also means what is Good one year can be Evil the next. Talk about having an incredibly intrusive government.

The individual always has a better idea of Good or Evil than the Government. Just as the individual has a better idea of spending their own money, then the Government saying "I can't trust you to spend your money wisely."
 
The problem is--as pointed by others--what exactly is 'good' and 'evil'? Stealing and murder are seen by most societies as 'wrong' but there's a sliding scale of sorts (first degree murder, second-degree, manslaughter, self-defense, etc) that mitigates the punishment. You may not agree with the way these distinctions are made but I think most people agree that it's a good idea that such distinctions do exist.

By saying 'This is Evil' you've removed any concept of extenuating circumstances, justification and so forth.

Also by enshrining these concepts into law, you basically removed the need for juries (and trials for that matter!). All I have to do is prove you committed an 'evil act' --doesn't matter what the circumstances are.

Also--here's a nice philosophical question--can one act be 'less' evil than another?
 

Grey Wolf

Gone Fishin'
Donor
The problem I have with this is that when you have changed something so that something that was evil is now no longer evil, or viceversa, then you have discredited the whole system. By definition evil is a moral absolute. If it is seen to be tinkered with at the whim of man then its rationale is lost. The alternative to tinkering is repression and stringent enforcement. Either way the system will die, either through a collapse of belief in it, or through some more violent revolution

Grey Wolf
 
Top