NET Application - Capital Punishment

Question 1

natural moral law and capital punishment (synderesis rule)

Answer 1

• evil goes against the 10 commandments (thou shall not kill)
• killing an evil person = promoting good

Question 2

natural moral law and capital punishment (teleology)

Answer 2

• the evil person still had a purpose –> them doing their evil action could have been an integral part in their life journey to reaching their telos

Question 3

natural moral law and capital punishment (primary and secondary precepts)

Answer 3

• O: capital punishment protects society and removes evil individuals, and also serves as a deterrent to preserve order–> but shows killing in society is okay if the gov does it, so it may remove order
• W: ‘turn the other cheek’ jesus taught forgiveness
• D: ‘thou shalt not kill’
• capital punishment is a secondary precept from ‘dont die’

Question 4

natural moral law and capital punishment (deontology)

Answer 4

• killing is wrong intrinsically in gods eyes no matter the reason (10 commandments)

Question 5

natural moral law and capital punishment (real and apparent goods)

Answer 5

• capital punishment is an apparent good as it may seem good to remove a criminal from society but it is murder and retribution isnt a good enough reason for this

Question 6

natural moral law and capital punishment (interior and exterior acts)

Answer 6

• might consider the family + society
• the action is wrong as it is murder

Question 7

natural moral law and capital punishment (god)

Answer 7

• sanctity of life –> preservation of his creation
• killing upholds gods law by removing evil
• only god can give out punishment and it is wrong to judge by our moral standards

Question 8

natural moral law and capital punishment (double effect)

Answer 8

• the good is achieving retribution but death is only a side effect

Question 9

natural moral law and capital punishment (reason)

Answer 9

• reason dictates gov and can override 10c (statistically works in some countries)
• only works in religious societies so should be banned and statistically doesnt work everywhere, used disproportionately (depends on country to country)

Question 10

situation ethics and capital punishment (teleological)

Answer 10

• capital punishment is not bringing about good = murder
• but can bring about good for society –> which has more weighting

Question 11

situation ethics and capital punishment (situationist approach)

Answer 11

• capital p not allowed in the UK but in the us
• considers law but considers also case by case (antinomian principle
• subjective

Question 12

situation ethics and capital punishment (agape)

Answer 12

• unconditional love = no death = no cap p

Question 13

situation ethics and capital punishment (four working principles)

Answer 13

• pragmatism: most practical in the UK = no cap but jail
• relativism: each case is different and should be considered differently and individually, no set of rules
• positivism: goes against the sanctity of life and his justice, but can be seen as protecting sociey and upholding gods virtues
• personalism: people>law, no crime can justify death. If the crime also involves another person?

Question 14

situation ethics and capital punishment (six fundamental principles)

Answer 14

• love is only always good: no other action is intrinsically good apart from love + only action that maximises love is always good too
• love is the only norm: all other laws can be ignored if it disobeys the absolute law of love
• love and justice are the same: law = justice, so the law is loving and should be followed
• love is not liking: retribution: victims do not need to love the criminal to preserve their life, but it is the love that matters
• love justifies the means: justified if love is demonstrated and evident in the end result
• love decides there and then: considering what is best for everyone in the moment –> do not dwell on the past or the future

Question 15

virtue ethics and capital punishment (teleology)

Answer 15

• end purpose ends with capp –> opportunity for telos is lost

Question 16

virtue ethics and capital punishment (eudaimonia)

Answer 16

• eudaimonia: happiness for society, as the criminal took the victims eudaimonia –> but is this correct

Question 17

virtue ethics and capital punishment (pleasure, honour, contemplation)

Answer 17

• engaged in philosophical debate –> best people to decide if its correct

Question 18

virtue ethics and capital punishment (reason)

Answer 18

• reason dictates the most beneficial outcome –> should the offender live?

Question 19

virtue ethics and capital punishment (community)

Answer 19

• removing the offender from the community is good
• cannot reform and cannot give back to the community if killed –> no positive change

Question 20

virtue ethics and capital punishment (doctrine of the mean)

Answer 20

• excess, used excessively
• mean: using less extreme punishment/use sparingly

Question 21

virtue ethics and capital punishment (not numerical)

Answer 21

• generosity: victim campaigning for their life, allows them to develop moral virtues
• finding a midway between extremes of letting them free and condemning to death

Question 22

virtue ethics and capital punishment (moral virtues)

Answer 22

• patience: forgiveness and letting them go free
• courage: the people involved in the execution

Question 23

virtue ethics and capital punishment (intellectual virtues)

Answer 23

• judgement, common sense, phronesis
• resourcefulness: weighing up ways to punish –> implications of imprisonment and other punishments

Question 24

virtue ethics and capital punishment (friendship)

Answer 24

• cant build meaningful relationships when dead –> loss of a member of society