Verified Document

Philosophical Approaches Research Paper

Philosophical Approaches The question of ethics, what the right thing to do vs. The wrong thing, can be a difficult one. There are occasions where right and wrong are black and white distinctions. The right thing to do is easy discernable, though it may not be the easiest things to do. However, this is the rare occasion. More often than not trying to determine right and wrong in a given situation is difficult. Usually the world is not divided into good and bad, right or wrong, black or white. Sometimes in life a person will be encountered with the opportunity to make a choice. There will be times when the right or wrong thing will not be as obvious as one would like it to be. There will also be occasions thankfully where the wrong or right thing will be obvious. Sometimes an honest action will be unprofitable and thus unpleasant and it can be difficult for the individual to make that correct, or right, choice. However, when faced with something so black and white, it is the responsibility of all thinking, ethical...

In the field of criminology, police and other law enforcement agencies are expected to always do the ethical thing. Criminals very often do not. There are several philosophical approaches regarding ethical decision-making. One such branch of philosophy is the concepts of internal and external determinism.
Internal determinism is comprised of the processes by which people formulate decisions within the self. This branch breaks down into two subcategories: biological and psychological determinism. The former refers to the processes which control our actions and our choices which are born into us because of our biology. This can relate to inherited traits from the genetic line or from abnormalities in the individual human which can shape how they make choices. Biology can heavily influence the stance one will take in an ethical dilemma. However, biological determinism goes beyond the individual pieces which make up a human being and looks at how a person's biological…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited:

Williams, Christopher R. And Bruce A. Arrigo (2008). "How Free Are We? The Challenge of Determinism." Ethics, Crime, and Criminal Justice. Prentice Hall. 51-71.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Philosophical Approaches
Words: 1048 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Criminological Theories Philosophical approaches Philosophical approaches to criminology: Two differing ethical worldviews regarding free will and choice The rational choice theory of criminology is perhaps the oldest theory of why people commit crimes. "Rational choice theories explain social behavior via the aggregated actions of rational or purposive actors. The actors are rational in the sense that, given a set of values and beliefs, they calculate the relative costs and benefits of alternative actions and,

Philosophical Approaches to Ethics. I Did Not
Words: 716 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

philosophical approaches to ethics. I did not begin this course with an extensive understanding of normative ethics. Instead, because the utilitarian approach is similar to my own, I assumed that most people had a utilitarian approach to ethics. Not that I would advocate an overt harm to an individual in order to help society, but I believed that the right choice would be dictated by the greatest good. I

Education -- Philosophical Approaches and
Words: 552 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

(3) How might you pose a question regarding No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in order to reveal your interviewee's philosophy regarding education? "Do you believe that the increased focus on standardized testing within the NCLB concept is beneficial to the educational interests of students or harmful to those interests?" "Do you believe that educational systems should place greater emphasis or less emphasis on standardized testing and why?" (4) Does the tenure of your

Philosophical Questions and Each of
Words: 1823 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Thus, the analytic approach offers the best method of approaching philosophical questions, because it understands and explicates the problems and limitations of human consciousness immediately by intentionally discussing language itself, because no philosophical work can ever escape the linguistic and therefore philosophical limitations placed upon human thought by the borders of language. The answer to the question "who am I" is revealed to be the "I" itself, made into a

Philosophical Perspective Action: I Decided
Words: 1103 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

However, when it comes to health-related issues, I do not believe that subjective personal impressions and feelings can influence one's ethical decision-making. The evidence is clear that smoking is harmful to the smoker, and also to the person who inhales second-hand smoke. Additionally, we were in my parents' home. I know that they have hard and fast rules about smoking on their property. My friend took a different point-of-view: he acquiesced

Philosophical Theories
Words: 580 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Philosophical Legal Theory: Analyzing the Rhetoric in Civil Rights Speeches by King and Wallace While Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) is remembered as a hero in the Civil Rights struggle, it is important to keep in mind that, during his time period, he was vilified by many who claimed that his efforts to secure equality for African-Americans were somehow unnatural. One of his most vocal opponents was George Wallace (Wallace), the

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now