Law and Morality

Law and Morality Sir John Salmond described the law as ‘the body of principles recognised and applied by the state in the administration of justice’. 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. Phil Harris stated that they are â€Å"standards of behaviour†.Unlike legal rules, 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, 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 soci ety.One example is the ‘smoking ban’ which was introduced by the Smoke-Free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2007 and more recently the proposed change to the legislation regarding same-sex marriage under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, which previously meant that gay marriage was prohibited. 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.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 as family and friends. They can have powerful influences on people’s behaviour, and develop over many years; often heavily embedded in religious and social history. Compliance with moral rules is voluntary and ther e 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, 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. Legal and moral codes can coincide; law can often be seen reinforcing and seeking to uphold our moral values. For example, Lord Atkins’ ‘neighbour principle’, which is the basis of the tort of negligence and is thought to have derived from the biblical command to ‘love t hy neighbour’ which is also believed to mean do not harm thy neighbour.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 must attempt to keep up in these situations. An example of this can be seen in R v R (1991), 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. Mrs Blood’s husband died from meningitis.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 inseminat ion carried out abroad. Under UK law their births had to be registered with a blank where their father’s name should have been. This was held to be incompatible with the human right to private and family life and the law has since been changed. With actions like theft and murder, they are classed as ‘wrong’ both morally and legally.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 encoura ge 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 further disputes that the law should respond to the changing moral attitudes on euthanasia; the British Social Attitudes Survey 2007 found that 80% of people are in favour of legalising it and despite this, there has been no further change.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 has been correctly made it should be obeyed even if it is immoral. The Hart/Devlin Debate follo wed the publication of the Wolfenden report in 1957.Lord Devlin was a prominent judge and a supporter of natural law whereas the academic Professor Hart was a positivist. The report recommended the legalisation of prostitution and homosexuality ‘should not intervene in the private lives of citizens or seek to enforce any particular pattern of behaviour further than necessary’ to protect others. Hart, who was influenced by the earlier theories of John Stewart Mill, supported the report’s approach, stating that legal enforcement of morals was unnecessary as it interferes with individual liberty.He believed that law and morals should be separate and the state should not intervene to restrict the freedom of individuals. Mill stated that one should not have to follow society’s morals; they should be free to act as they wish, provided their acts do not harm others and Hart only added to this so that their acts also do not harm themselves. Devlin, on the other ha nd, 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.In this debate Devlin stated â€Å"individual liberty could only flourish in a stable society; disintegration of our society through lack of shared morality would, therefore, threaten individual freedom†. This highlights his beliefs that law and morality are inseparable and the law should in fact intervene in order to support morality. Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher and jurist, rejected natural law theories as ‘nonsense upon stilts’ and concluded that the validity of law does not depend on whether it is good or bad.Ideally, the law should aim to provide the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, but even if it doesn’t, it may still be a valid law. 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. He stated that ethics is all about learning to be a ‘good person’ and you should not do anything wrong unless there is a very good reason to do so. These views have been perceived as a ‘balancing exercise’ as it is necessary to determine the correct way to behave by weighing up the benefits against the consequences.The Wolfendon Report supported Professor Hart’s view that law and morality should be separate, however, various cases decided since the report show that judges are imposing their moral views in their judgements, such as in the case of R v Brown and Others, the defendants had willingly consented to sado-masochistic practices. 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 upho ld 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 S47. COA held his conduct amounted to â€Å"tattooing† and that it was not in the public interest to impose a criminal sanction, still showing that the public and their moral views still influence our law. 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 difficult 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, 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. 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. On the other hand, only a year later it was decided that ‘Miss B’, who was suffering from a terminal illness and receiving medical treatment keeping her alive, had the right to refuse to continue with the treatment. 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 A (2000), Siamese 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 a gainst 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. This follows Bentham’s views that overall more people would benefit if the operation were to go ahead, although this has caused controversy over which individuals moral code should have applied to the situation.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. In Shaw v DPP the influence of Devlin was seen in the decision with the court describing the ‘fundamental purpose of the law, to conserve not only the safety and order, but also the moral welfare of the state. ’ This was also seen in Knuller v DPP which raised the issue of outraging public decency.Hart has had influence on the infamous Sexual Offences Act 1967 as we ll as reforms in legislation such as the Obscene Publications Act 1968 and the Divorce Law Reform Act 1969. 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 important 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 and 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 bel ief that weakening of the moral basis of the law is dangerous.

Compare and Contrast Essay Sample on Parasites

Compare and Contrast Essay Sample on Parasites Creative writing on Compare and Contrast Two Parasites: A parasite is an organism that resides in the living tissue of a host organism mainly for food benefit. Thus, a parasite has its long maturity period inside the host and may cause certain diseases but as for others, they have no apparent harm on their host. Many of the parasites have specificity adaptations allowing them to exploit host resources. In most cases of infections, diseases are endemic through a parasitic mode during their physiological and morphological adaptations. Protozoa are single-celled microscopic organisms that have the similar behavioral functions and complexity of development, existing as free-living or parasitic in nature, which are able to multiply in humans just by single organism infection. Intestinal protozoa are transmitted through an oral or fecal route. For the most part, the protozoa are found where food and water is contaminated by human or animal waste. In its cyst period, a protective cover on the outer membrane allows the protozoa to infect the host through the digestive tract without damage. Thus, develop into a mature organism that is able to nourish and reproduce. Protozoa causes most of the common parasitic diseases, such as Amebic dysentery (Entamoeba Histolytica protozoan). Other types of protozoa that stream inside the blood or tissue of their humans are transmitted through a vector, where an organism transports carries from one host to another, (for an example through a bite wound of a mosquito i.e. malaria). They are considered to cause more death and sufferings to humans than any other type of disease causing -organisms. Amoebiasis infection resides in the gastrointestinal tract affecting a wide human population and therefore, responsible as a major health problem in the world, (Center for diseases and control and prevention, 2011). It can generate to sickness or not depending on the human resistant of the host. Virulence is defined as the extent of damage caused to the host, in other instances Amoebiasis parasites may reside in their host without harm. Unlike protozoa, the Helminths are usually large wormlike creatures, which cannot multiply in their adult stages. On a similar note, they are parasitic and free-living in nature with smaller body sizes compared with their host for survival adaptations. In addition, many of the parasites are reduced to inferiority through a process known as sacculinization .They include the following ;( nematodes) or roundworms that reside in the blood, gastrointestinal tract and the lymphatic system. Ascaris lumbricoides are the largest of parasitic roundworms which mature to almost fifteen inches long in the small intestines. (Flat worms) include tapeworms and flukes. A tapeworm infects the intestinal tract of its host by attaching itself with suckers on their head. Tapeworms depend on intermediate association with hosts such cattle or pigs. Flukes are transmitted through skin contact with contaminated water. They harbor one host for their development and growth; it’s called a direct life cy cle both in their larva and adult stages. While in contrast, if the organisms depends on association of intermediates hosts is known as the indirect life cycles. Ascaris lumbricoides(round worms ) usually have their eggs passed as stool of the infected host and stained brown by bile. In conclusion, (Ascaris lumbricoides) Nematodes and Entamoeba Histolytica protozoan are endporasties, which survive and develop in their hosts; both parasites cannot survive without a host. Many are considered to have long-life cycle on their hosts. If you need a custom creative writing essay contact our creative writing service CustomWritings.com. We will write a creative writing paper for you.

The French Revolution essays

The French Revolution essays The French Revolution was a turning point in France's history. The Revolution began when King Louis XVI called the Estates General to provide money for his bankrupt government. Between 1789 and 1799 many kings, queens, nobles, and clergyman lost their power and status in France. France's government changes drastically over the ten years the war was fought and it will never be the same. By the end of 1788, France was on the verge of bankruptcy. King Louis was a very indecisive and shy king. He didn't care much for politics or people. Through his carelessness Louis chose officials who stole money from him and France. Since France had no money and a large debt to pay the king taxed the citizens harshly. The angry French grew tired of the heavy taxes and riots broke out constantly against the king. Louie summoned the General Estates to meet at the Palace of Versailles for the first time since 1614. Louis had all three estates prepare cahiers. The cahiers were notebooks listing the grievances of each estate. Many cahiers asked for reform. These reforms includes: freedom of speech, a regular meeting of the Estates General, and fairer taxes. The third estate and least influential was also the largest. It contained one million middle class citizens and twenty-four million laborers and working class citizens. The third estate sick of being refused by nobles and being out-voted(not in count but rank) formed the National Assembly. When their normal meeting place was locked for preparations of a royal speech the National Assembly took it as a threat. Between the ten days of June 17,1789 and June 27, 1789, the delegates of the assembly took the Tennis Court Oath. The oath meant that they would not dismember until a fair constitution was written up for France. After many nobles joined the National Assembly the king had not choice but to accept them, but ...

Substandard Prenatal Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Substandard Prenatal Care - Essay Example Both Latin America and Mexico are developing nations that have a modern economy that is encompassed in a rural peasant population. Mexico and Latin America are influenced by the forces of economics, politics, and cultural traditions that contribute to a rate of pregnancy problems and infant mortality that significantly exceeds their neighbors in North America. The issue of prenatal care is an issue that has several relevant aspects. It is a woman's issue, and as such has suffered from gender bias that has pervaded the hemisphere due to the impact of religion and its view of women. As with other women's issues, such as breast cancer, funding for prenatal care is often diminished by the male dominated power structure. However, prenatal care is not merely a women's issue as it impacts males and female alike and is an integral part of a healthy family. In the 21st century, prenatal care has become an issue of basic human rights. It addresses the most fundamental units of society (the children) that are incapable of deciding or acting for themselves. Adequate prenatal care is a broad based program that not only delivers a healthy child at birth, but also addresses the needs of the pregnant woman, her nutrition, mental health, and delivery safety. It should include "Safe and clean delivery, early detection and management of sexually transmitted diseases, infections and complications during pregnancy and delivery and taking into account the physiological needs of the newborn baby" (World Health Organization 25). When these interventions are accessible, affordable, and offered to pregnant women, they can have a substantial effect on improving the health of the newborn child and mother. There has been some increased international focus on this issue as it has been recognized that "the vast majority of infant and maternal deaths and disabilities are preventable through high quality care, detection and efficient referral for complications, and access to the essential elements of obstetric care when needed" (Glei, Goldman, and Rodrigue z 3). While these initiatives are helpful, they are impeded by competing social, cultural, and economic factors. The forces that influence the delivery of adequate prenatal care have particularly impacted Latin America and Mexico, our neighbors to the South. Economics, culture, and politics have all taken a toll on this region in regards to health care. While the external influences of diet and the environment contribute to infant mortality, "maternal mortality is almost wholly attributable to a lack of-or poor quality- prenatal, delivery, and puerperal care" (Casas, Dachs, and Bambas 27). These services are difficult for many women to attain due to cultural traditions that have subjugated women and an economic system that has placed prenatal care out of the reach of the masses in this region. Inequalities based on wealth are one of the biggest obstacles that women in the lower economic classes face. In Mexico, less than 10 percent of all the babies born to the lower economic classes are born in a hospital, but this number rises to 90 percent for the upper economic municipalities (Casas, Dachs, and Bambas 31). Countries in Latin America have mediated this figure by mandating a goal of 80 percent of all deliveries be attended by a skilled professional,

Pg 194 Case Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pg 194 Case - Assignment Example The band remained true to their calling in offering the best to the public as far as advertising is taken into consideration. In this they remain constant to their intended purpose (Sandra, 2008). From the case in question it’s evident that Black Eyed Peas band had moved forward in their work ‘without missing a beat’ as this chapter reckons. Source credibility is another dimension to look at since many sponsors have the trust that this band will always deliver the very best together with the message they relay in the market .This therefore builds on the persuasiveness of the information to the benefit of the company that own the product seeking endorsement. Consumers will therefore agree with any message that is passed to them as the gospel truth following the credibility of the band. Source attractiveness, on another hand, makes the recipient of the advertising message to identify and gain confidence with the band (Miles, 2011). The source of the message is duly identified by the intended receiver who synthesizes the same to come up with the ultimate decision to purchase a good or a service. Potential buyers tend to feel happy about the advert such that they are even persuaded to try the product on offer. Everyone seems elated to be associated with this band thus any brand that they endorse is likely to find its way into the basket of consumers due to high level of persuasiveness exhibited. The Black Eyed Peas band is best suited to endorse electronic brands and automobiles like Apple, television sets and vehicles. This is so because of the high expertise levels bestowed in them. For example the band had successfully endorsed Samsung’s 3D televisions in Times Square. They can therefore develop ads that suit to endorse an electronic product. On one hand, rock bands can generally be suited to endorse consumer goods like drinks and food. With this therefore they can successfully endorse a brand into the

An analysis the service marketing issues affecting JD SPORTS within Essay

An analysis the service marketing issues affecting JD SPORTS within the SPORTING retail sector - Essay Example It is the intangibles of the business’ operational model that provides JD Sports with its current number two position amongst competition. However, in a market environment in which services are highly homogenous amongst competition, JD Sports must emphasise quality in order to maintain a proper brand reputation and build long-term brand equity. Interaction with staff members within the organisation and the service environment (servicescape) will dictate the depth of relationship with the brand that is perceived by customers (Berry and Carbone, 2007; Grace and O’Cass 2004). This is one of the fundamental challenges for JD Sports: establishing a relevant service marketing model that will enhance long-term brand loyalty which translates into higher profitability and better opportunities for brand expansion into other product lines. Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) iterate that brand loyalty is the foundation of being able to establish premium pricing models and also generates essential word-of-mouth advertising needed to gain ground with important target markets. Gounaris and Vlasis (2004) iterate the benefits of achieving brand loyalty to include higher revenues, less vulnerability to a variety of different competitor-generated marketing rivalry, and favourable word-of-mouth advertising. JD Sports, however, has not been able to successfully translate its service marketing model into a viable service methodology to enhance brand loyalty. In this market, it is quite simplistic for competitors to replicate existing service models and merchandise offerings, making it an intricate process of determining an appropriate service quality standard that will not be easily replicated by competition. â€Å"A strong brand is the only asset a company maintains that cannot be copied† (Nandan 2005, p.271). Further, empirical study results illustrate that brands which focus on establishing a brand image generate more loyal

Using an Experimental Technique Essay Example for Free

Using an Experimental Technique Essay Another chemical commonly used is ethanol in the aseptic technique and this too was varied in the amount of time the seeds were soaked before being placed in varying times and concentrations of the sodium hypochlorite. Ultimately, in order to use the barley seeds we need have a sterilization technique that can eliminate majority of fungal contamination while not harming the germination of the chosen seeds. I propose an experimental idea to eliminate fungal contamination from barley seed germination. Materials and Methods Aseptic Technique The working area was sprayed down completely with 95% Ethanol before the seeds were used. The forceps used to transfer the seeds from liquid to media were sterilized using the ethanol. Seed Sterilization Procedure Using aseptic techniques 20 barley seeds obtained from the paper bag kept in the fridge were transferred into sterile distilled water and let to sit in a drawer for 20 hours overnight before being transferred to 100% bleach with a drop of dish liquid (Inatomi and Slaughter, 1971). The seeds were soaked in the bleach for a total of 2 hours before being dipped in sterile distilled water and placed on Petri dishes with minimal media and placed in a growth chamber. The germination of the seeds was monitored for 7 days for any fungal contamination. Results After 3 days the seeds were germinating (13 out of 20) and there was no visible evidence of fungal growth. 5 Days: there were no contaminants. 7 Days: no contaminants. || 3 Days seed growth. No contaminants. |3 Days seed growth. No contaminants. | || 5 Days seed growth. No contaminants. |5 Days seed growth. No contaminants. | Discussion Fungal contaminations can be a problem when trying to germinate seeds and a successful experiment is needed to sterilize the barley seeds for further experimentation. I proposed a sterilization experiment for barley seeds and had success with 65% germination and 0% fungal growth. This sterilization technique could provide a good beginning point to begin other experimentation on germination success of barley seeds, without the hassle of fungal contamination to destroy possible results. The overnight soak in the water forced the fungal spores to begin germinating and thereby making it possible for the 2 hour bleach soak to become more effective in eliminating the fungus and other contaminants from the seed coat. The few seeds which did not germinate could have had too much bleach penetration and therefore killed these seeds, however the success was more beneficial than the failure, and so this novel sterilization technique was effective in its elimination of fungal contaminations while providing a good germination rate of the barley seeds. Literature Cited K. Inatomi and J. C. Slaughter. 1971. The Role of Glutamate Decarboxylase and Aminobutyric Acid in Germinating Barley. J. Exp. Bot. 22:561-571.