Police Ethics-Chapter 7, Ethical Formalism Flashcards
An era in history, approx the 1700s, when men revered human rationality and applied the logic of scientific reasoning to all subjects,; a philosophy of liberalism and democratic values that hastened the end of the aristocratic tradition
Age of Enlilghtenment
Immanuel Kant’s ethical principle of the universalizability of maxims and the dignity of all persons
Categorical Imperative
Nazi secret police, notorious for rounding up Jews and other enemies of state, and taken them into a form of custody that meant almost certain death
Gestapo
Ethical philosopher most noted for founding ethical formalism, the absolutist, deontological school of thought
Immanuel Kant
French philosopher; part of the Enlightenment; first suggested the idea of the social contract
Rousseau,Jean-Jacques
Situations type of justice dispensed by the lawgiver of the Bedouin in Africa
Khadi justice
Japanese suicide pilots
Kamikaze
A motive; a personal reason that is the motive for conduct
maxim
Set of ethical theories suggesting that the laws of human behavior and social interactions come from higher source, perhaps God, rather than being manmade; reason of nature
natural law
Post-World War !! trials of Nazis aimed at holding them accountable for war crimes
Nuremberg trials
method by which heirs of the Enlightenment obtain the natural laws of the world
practical rationality
religion that , along with Buddhism, is practiced by a large majority of Japanese
Shinto
methods of analyzing right human conduct that are different from time to time depending upon circumstances
situational theories of ethics
a notion coined by the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, and then adapted by Rousseau, that the original form of life is a “state of nature” in which there is no state or social order, and that people give up their freedom to a government in order to recieve protection
social contract
religious philosopher famous, among other things, for being a member of the school of natural laws
St. Thomas Aquinas
school of ethical thought founded by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill which suggest that the right thing to do is determined by what consequences it has for the majority
utilitarianism
“You don’t do things right some of the time. You do them right all of the time”
Vince Lombardi, football coach
the School of ethical formalism. most important deontological theorty in history.
Immanuel Kant
Duty to God
rules that religion brings to us are absolute pronouncements from an ultimate authority and are not alterable.
Natural law
believe that the absolute pinciples of duty come to us from the natural world. The ethical standards that guide human behavior are objectively derived from the nature of human beings and the nature of the world.
Examples of Religious Duty
Japenese military, kamikaze pilots. Pilots were members of the Shinto regligion. Religion worshiped the emperor as a living god. When pilots died, he was honored at the Yasukuni shrine
___writing that natural law consists in reverence for the gods, duty toward the fatherland, parents and relatives, gratitude and readiness to forgive and respect for all those who are superior to us in age, wisdom or status
Roman Republic, Cicero writing
Natural law adherents may very well believe in a God–several natural law theories come from religious theorist such as
St. thomas Aquinas
The natural law constitutes the principles of ______.
practical rationality
every human being, because he has power to be rational, possesses a basic knowledge of the natural law- the nature of things
practical reationality
who posited that all people know immediately, by inclination, what constitutes the good. Among other things, people know that they should pursue life, procreation, knowledge, society, and reasonable conduct
St. Thomas Aquinas
St Thomas Aquinas philosophy was expanded by French philosopher
Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the Age of Enlightenment. He suggested that human beings are good by nature and that abnormal wickedness, evil history and inappropriate institutions corrupt that nature.
Rousseau suggested that all people are bound to each other and to their society thru
social contract
___ ___is one that acts from duty in accordance with the universal moral law that the autonomous human being freely gives itself
Good will
_____ is our governing trait, the trait that, in Kant’s estimation, makes us human
Rationality
Ethical formalist believe there is an absolute principle upon which ethical choices must be basec.
Categorical Imperative
Categorical Imperative
tests the moral validity of any action.
Categorical- it applies universally to all situations.
Imperative-because it has the force of a law of reason
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”
Golden Rule
In consciously willing some act, a person sees that all people are members of a “Kingdom of ends”.
this the source of personal dignity: this connection of reason provides a sense of the ultimate worth for each person
Kant’s absolute duties: some suggestions
Every child deserves to be loved
Married people should keep their wedding vows
parents have duty to protect their children
wrong to torment animals
cruelty is always wrong
___ is the “excercise of power cruelly or unjustly.
Tyranny
Ultimate in discretion. No rules, no principls, no laws are referenced- only the personal understanding of the decision maker about what is right serves as the grounds for dispute resolution
KHAdi justice
Acting in conformity with absolute rules is morally valid regardless of whether doing so promotes a good or makes a difference in someones life
ethical formalist
not concerned with promotion of good in world (good consequences, that is) but only with intentions.
Kant’s ethical theory
Nazis who were responsible for sending millions to death camps were put on trial.
Nuremberg Trials
Adolph Hitler took power thru democratic process in ___
1932
When a majority of people holds such racist ideas and turns them into laws. Immoral laws. this creates what political scientists call___
the tyranny of the majority
__________ encourage the individual to focus on doing good in a way that takes into account the substantial impact of ones choices on the lives of others and on the good of the community
Utilitarianism
Kant’s philosophy: Pros and Cons
Pros
1. ensures equal treatment
2. develops respect for law and police
3. limits impact of personal prejudice
4. makes law understandable, consistent, fair
Cons
1. allows majorities to persecute minorities
2. does not allow police to be creative by using their minds and hearts in deciding what is fair and just
3. can inhibit justice by treating people unfairly
In using the law as a tool in the effort to create such atmosphere, the police promote ___,____ and ____.
justice, equality and freedom
______ theories of ethics are not absolutist. They suggest it is most logical to make choices that may vary from situation to situation–driven by a concern for the consequences of such choice.
Situational theories…Utilitarian is such a theory
_____ is called teleological because a certain outcome, or end-state, is what defines the nature of the act, and not the act itself or adherence to the rule.
Utilitarianism
For Kant, _________—– not the goodness brought into peoples lives— is the most important feature of morality.
rationality
Kant’s philosophy has several major drawbacks.
- does not help us with conflicting duties
- cannot allow for reasonable exceptions
- cannot tell whether a maxim is a moral one or not.
- minority rights can be sacrificed in name of blind obedience to duty.
