Judah Rosenthal is a prosperous ophthalmologist, a father, a husband and a generous donator to charity: he has all the traits of a noble man, but has a secret. He has had an affair for the past two years, and now the hysterically in love woman is threatening to expose him to his wife and to the rest of the world. Crushed by fear and torment, Judah resolves to have her murdered. Despite the brutality of his choice, it is not a simple task for him, even though he has always been skeptical towards the Jewish traditions he learned from his father and being himself a man of science. Murder had never been taken into consideration before now. It is the sin of sins, the highest depravation of respect to his victim – how could he do it? And if he did, how could he possibly live with it?
This fundamental question runs throughout the 1989 film Crimes and Misdemeanors in which the director Woody Allen also challenges his audience to consider whether they would commit murder if they knew they would get away with it. In order to shed light on the question of morality though, it is necessary to understand its very nature.
One of the innumerous aspects philosophical thinking is concerned with is the question of morality. It goes back in time until Aristotle, who can be considered one of the most profound thinkers in the history of moral philosophy thanks to his theory of virtue. In Aristotelian terms, Joseph Kupfer defines virtues as ‘excellent qualities of individuals that make them valuable to themselves and to other people. […] Virtues are necessary attributes for happy common life because we need to be able to rely on others, as well as on ourselves, in order to flourish’ (1999: 23). Essentially, to act virtuously benefits not only to one...
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... Crimes and Misdemeanors goes against the stream of films that portray a conventional moral structure. Judah does not get punished and Cliff does not get the girl, as would commonly happen in the real world. Judah finds out no one will punish him unless he punishes himself, so he chooses to overcome his burden and give his life a new meaning. As Levy pointed out, it is only we that give meaning to the indifferent universe, and so goes for the films relation to the philosophical approaches it refers to. Judah might say he finally got his life back, but did he really? As Wartenberg puts it, ‘film allows us to see the complexity of our moral lives in a manner that allows us to more fully grasp morally significant aspects of it’ (2007: 98), and Crimes and Misdemeanors excellently fulfills this task by provoking, stimulating and contradicting our moral thinking too.
Released in 1989, Crimes and Misdemeanors outlines the lives of two men; Cliff Stern and Judah Rosenthal. Cliff Stern, a small time film-maker, struggles to succeed in both his career and marriage. While Judah Rosenthal, a wealthy ophthalmologist, faces moral dilemmas after having an affair with a young mistress. Judah's mistress expects him to leave his wife and when he doesn't she threatens to expose the secret relationship. Unsure Judah contemplates whether or not killing the mistress, to protect his comfortable lifestyle, is morally comprehensible. Ultimately, Judah decides to pay for the murder and gets away with it. Surrounding Judah's decision and Cliff's struggles, minor characters emerge within the plot embodying specific philosophical viewpoints. One of these characters is a professor and philosopher named Louis Levy who voices the importance of love. Shortly before committing suicide Levy says something rather ambiguous about love; "it is only we, with our capacity to love, that give meaning to an indifferent universe; and yet, most human beings seem to have the ability to...
Reading newspapers or watching TV at home, at least we find one article or news describing a killing, a shooting, or an armed robbery. With all these problems, we are in fear but cannot avoid hearing and dealing with them. They happen every day and some time justice system blunders and leads to wrongly convict people for what they do not commit. This is reality of wrecked system that is resulted by injustice and corruption. Ultimately, Errol Morris confirms this reality based on a true story of an innocent convicted Randal Adams for a criminal case by creating a film, The Thin Blue Line. David Harris, an important accuser, claims Adams was a murderer and shot Robert Wood, a Dallas police officer. With Morris’ suspicion of Adams’ innocence, he turns himself to be a detective movie director and investigates the criminal case that occurred in Dallas, Texas in 1976. His goal is to show that Adams was wrongly convicted and justice system was flawed. By using juxtaposition and recreations, Morris successfully contrasts Adams and Harris to show that Adams is innocent and Harris is guilty, intensifies distrust of the legality in Adams’ wrong conviction to prove a flawed legal system, and evinces the eye witnesses are discreditable.
This movie goes to show how such crucial facts and minuet evidence if not processed fully and clearly can change the outcome in such a big way. In this jury you have 12 men from all different walks of life, 12 different times, and 12 different personalities. Who have an obligation to come to one conclusion and that's whether or not the young man on trial is guilty of murdering his father or is innocent beyond a reasonable doubt. Under much frustration and lack of patience these 12 men began to get unruly and unfocused. Throughout this distraction key terms get misused, facts get turned around and more importantly emotions start to cross making it hard for these men to produce a verdict.
The stories, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, both have a character that breaks a social convention. In this case, both characters, George and Montresor, were murderers. It’s clear that these characters have broken a major law, but how and why they did it will determine whether or not their justification is enough.
Gary Watson shares the true story of the serial killer Robert Harris in his essay “Responsibility and the Limits of Evil”. This inclusive narrative shares of a man who was once a very sensible young boy who found himself on the south tier of Death Row in San Quentin Prison. Through this story, the reader learns first about Robert Harris’s crime and then about his upbringing. Both of which are stories that one could consider hard to read and even consider to be a true story. Those who knew Robert Harris claimed that he was a man that did not care about life. He did not care about himself nor anyone else. Each inmate and deputy, from the prision, who was questioned about
Virtue ethics is a moral theory that was first developed by Aristotle. It suggests that humans are able to train their characters to acquire and exhibit particular virtues. As the individual has trained themselves to develop these virtues, in any given situation they are able to know the right thing to do. If everybody in society is able to do the same and develop these virtues, then a perfect community has been reached. In this essay, I shall argue that Aristotelian virtue ethics is an unsuccessful moral theory. Firstly, I shall analyse Aristotelian virtue ethics. I shall then consider various objections to Aristotle’s theory and evaluate his position by examining possible responses to these criticisms. I shall then conclude, showing why Aristotelian virtue ethics is an unpractical and thus an unsuccessful moral theory in reality.
Moral decisions are based on ethics such as divine command theories, ethics of conscience or ethics of our inner voice, ethical egoism, ethics of duty, ethics of respect, ethics of rights, ethics of Justice, virtue ethics and utilitarianism which is an ethical philosophy in which the happiness of the greatest number of people in the society is considered the greatest good. According to this philosophy, an action is morally right if its consequences lead to happiness, and wrong if it ends in unhappiness. Socrates and his contemporaries were the first to undertake by reasoned analysis and arguments to investigate how one ought to lead one’s life and, on that basis, to reject uncritical reliance on the traditional authorities in these matters. The claim that they are to be regarded as the first moral philosophers rests on their self-conscious appeal to the authority of reason in determining how one ought to lead one’s life, and there attention to devising methods appropriate for the employment of reason in investigating the questions that arose in this connection. No complete writing of any of this first generation of moral philosophers survives. The principal lines of the later debates were shaped by this first generation of moral theorists. Three treatises on ethics survive under Aristotle’s name: Magna Moralia, Eudemian Ethics, and the
Misdemeanors are crimes that are typically punishable by no more than one year of local county jail time and have no more than a $1,000 fine. Misdemeanors can range from very minor to very severe. Misdemeanors are less severe Crimes that are considered misdemeanors include DUI’s, petty theft, driving with a suspended license, vandalism, prostitution, possession of drugs, not allowing an officer to search or inspect, failure to stop if law enforcement is trying to pull you over, refusing to show your license to a police officer, causing injury with a motor vehicle when driving with a suspended or revoked license, hit and run, driving in the wrong direction, drag racing, throwing an object at another vehicle on a freeway, failing to install a court ordered ignition interlock device within the 30 day grace period, and reckless driving. Misdemeanors typically proceed with an arrest, an arraignment, a pretrial and then a court or jury trial. During the arrest stage you will be taken to jail. The jail will do one of three things, either you will be let out of jail with no charges fil...
Virtue theory is the best ethical theory because it emphasizes the morality of an individual in which their act is upon pure goodness and presents as a model to motivate others. Aristotle was a classical proponent of virtue theory who illustrates the development habitual acts out of moral goodness. Plato renders a brief list of cardinal virtues consisting of wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice. This ethical theory prominently contradicts and links to other theories that personifies the ideal being. However, virtue theorists differ from their own expression of these qualities yet it sets a tone that reflects on the desire to express kindness toward others.
The United States has always had criminals walking around the streets or locked up in an everyday life situation. Crimes are committed everyday by young children, adults, seniors, or any kind of man or woman that may look like a bad influence or others that look like innocent people walking down the streets who have never committed a crime before. Juveniles ages 7-15 should not be sentenced to life without parole for crimes they commit because it would not be fair for them to spend the rest of their lives in jail for committing a mistake. Reasons can be found on why juveniles should be left inside a cell and arguments can build up if people disagree with one another. Some adults commit crimes and are left with freedom after a satisfied amount
Virtue ethics is a theory about finding our highest good and doing so will develop a vigorous character within each person. Character is important because it shows that a person has certain beliefs and desires in doing the right thing and when the right thing is accomplished, happiness follows (Hartman, 2006). Virtue ethics derives from Aristotle and he concludes that by doing virtuous acts all through life happiness and respectable character will develop (Morrison & Furlong, 2013). Finding the highest good within oneself brings happiness and great character to that individual.
Individuals are not born with an ability to understand moral values and apply moral standards. As people mature, their physical, emotional, and cognitive abilities develop and so does their ability to deal with moral issues. Aristotle, an early Greek thinker who proposed one of the most influential theories of ethical thinking in the West, argued that our moral abilities which he called virtues or morally good habits, develop solely through constant practice and repetition, in the same way, he argued, humans acquire their moral abilities and when they are taught and habituated by their families and communities to think, feel and behave in morally appropriate ways. Such vitally important human values as courage, generosity, self-control, temperance,
Life as we know it is full of wonder and mystery. Questions are essential in order for us to discover the world around us and especially understand where we stand in the world. Many philosophers find their inspiration in Aristotle’s work. His work is legendary and his name is known throughout the world. As a philosopher, Aristotle questioned life around him in order to better understand the world and how humans work. One of those various questions included, “What makes a good person?” This question resolves around the theory of virtue ethics. This theory stresses how character and virtue play a major part in moral philosophy. According to Aristotle, someone who has excellent attributes is defined as being virtuous. Both Plato and Aristotle are known as the founding fathers of this theory of virtue. Aristotle is credited more with this theory than Plato. Around the 19th century virtue ethics declined, but resurfaced in the late 1950’s in Anglo-American philosophy. Virtue ethics has risen to prominence once again because of its focus on the virtuous character traits of individuals that help
Juvenile crime is a growing problem that endangers virtually every American. Juvenile delinquency is enormously damaging to the health and well-being of the nations families and communities. A juvenile crime can consist of DUI, robbery, rape, minor in possession, weapon in possession anything an adult can be charged with. Individuals under the age of eighteen who commit these crimes can be charged as a juvenile delinquent. Statistics show that most juveniles that commit crimes are in a gang; weather its street related or school related. The average cost of caring for an incarcerated juvenile is more than $40,000 a year. Vandalism in schools cost more than two-hundred million a year, and vandalism directed at personal property is even more expensive. Most juveniles commit crimes because of peer pressure or broken homes. When a minor commits a crime, a state will classify them as a juvenile delinquent.
“All of morals comes down to the virtues.” (Keenan, 142) Keenan asserts that these virtues are the cardinal virtues, consisting of courage, temperance, justice, and prudence, and date back to Aristotle in Ancient Greece. The word cardinal is derived from the root, cardo, meaning hinge. Simply stated, the Christian moral life hinges on the cardinal virtues. Keenan suggests an updating of the cardinal virtues to become justice, fidelity, self-care, and prudence. He provides reasoning for the new virtue list. He defines each virtue with its social implications. For example, individuals should seek to set up society with equal justice for all persons. These descriptions help the Christian understand when the virtues are best applicable to self and/or others. Thomas Aquinas adds three theological virtues to the mix: faith, hope, and charity. Familiar from the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians, these virtues seek to help Christian theologians through the ages maintain the integrity of the Gospel and continue to make it relevant in the modern world. Keenan recounts Bernard of Clairvaux’s beliefs that cultivating the virtues is a way to assimilate with the humanity of Jesus. (Keenan, 136) According to Aquinas, “Every human action is a moral action.” (Keenan, 142) The purpose of the virtues is to guide Christians, and when the Christian studies and applies the virtues to his life, his actions will demonstrate morality. The Bible heralds in Proverbs 3:32, “Devious people are detestable to the Lord, but the virtuous are his close