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morality of capital Punishment
morality of capital Punishment
controversy of the death penalty
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Using Democratic Deliberation to Resolve the Moral Disagreement on Capital Punishment (Death Penalty)
Common American experience seems to suggest that a solution to every dilemma can be found through enough lobbying, legislating, media-blitzing or politicking. We often believe that the person arguing most eloquently, reasonably or forcefully will win every dispute, yet there are times when this optimism fails. Despite great efforts to show the strength of a position, there are arguments that we cannot untangle simply by proving our right and another's wrong. Some moral questions permit such different outlooks that holders of completely opposing views can both be morally sound. Rather than trying to reason away one side we can only hope to understand each position well enough to acknowledge its critical elements and keep bitter dissension to a minimum.
Even with the most fundamental moral differences, we are often forced to make clear, unwavering decisions. Amidst a roar of incompatible claims about the need to protect the lives of fetuses and the freedoms of women, policy makers must conclusively decide if abortions will be legally available. Neither years of careful thought nor months of ferocious debate will yield an objectively right answer-some other method is clearly needed. The deliberative technique proposed here does not give automatic answers, but it does provide progress towards making hard choices.
This idea of democratic deliberation does not demand that all 270 million US citizens enter into debate or cast votes in binding referendum. Such a large and varied state makes this impossible and less obviously, such stark majoritarianism also ignores the positions of a substantial minority. In efforts t...
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...tive discourse has a natural tendency to make the decision-making process more inclusive by embracing a wider field of views, whether they be of students, philosophers or Death Row inmates.
Clearly this method is not foolproof or universally applicable, yet deliberation is valuable for the simple reason that at its core, it is "a form of agreeing to disagree." In many cases of deliberation there will be no obvious compromise to include all views so the most we can hope for is to accommodate the most strongly held points of each. Some groups will always be dissatisfied but we can try to limit the amount of moral discord created. Though we can disagree on opinions, there is little we can say or do to unsanctifiy one's beliefs. Moral stances should not be silenced, but instead must be accounted for, as can be done within a framework of democratic deliberation.
your life, in the space of time it takes for the match to burn out
speech when he said that love is the strongest force in the world. Anyone who engages
"Capital punishment is a term which indicates muddled thinking." George Bernard Shaw The "muddled thinking" that Shaw speaks of is the thinking that perpetuates the controversy over capital punishment in the United States today. The impractical concurrence of a theoretical, moral argument and definite, legal application has left all sides in this controversy dissatisfied with the ultimate handling of the issue. There are legitimate ethical and empirical considerations that stand on both the side that favors and on the side that opposes the death penalty. The general incompatibility of these considerations renders them irreconcilable. It is within this condition of irreconcilability that the government must initiate and implement its policies regarding capital punishment. This fixed condition has led to the necessity for and creation of comprises between both sites of this debate, attempting to synthesize the considerations of the two. The contentious issue of the capital punishment was rekindled in the 1970s when, in 1976, the Supreme reinstated the practice after a four-year hiatus. The arguments that comprise much of the legal debate on the issue stem from the eighth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution. The eighth reads, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." 1
Capital punishment is a declining institution as the twentieth century nears its end. At one time capital punishment was a common worldwide practice, but now it is only used for serious violation of laws in 100 of the world's 180 nations (Haines 3 ). It can be traced back to the earliest forms of civilization. The origins of the movement away from capital punishment are difficult to date precisely. The abolition movement can be heard as early as the religious sermons of the Quakers in the 1640's (Masur 4). In the seventeenth century, the Anglo-American world began to rely less on public executions and more in favor of private punishments. The possible decline in popularity of the capital punsihment system is directly related to the many controversial issues it entails such as: the questions of deterrence, morals and ethics, constitutionality, and economics.
second story I chose is called “A Rose for Emily” and was written by William Faulkner. Both of
He kept a consistent energy high throughout his whole speech, keeping a hold of his audience. He uses several parallel language throughout his speech, For example, “ ...they must be found, they must be pursued, and they must be defeated.” With the parallel language, he also uses several antithesis throughout his speech. For example, “ If there is a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for their prescription drug and having to chose between paying the medicine or the rent, it makes my life poor even if it’s not my grandparent.” When he takes somebody else struggle and care about it, he makes it very memorable because he chose to care even if it does not physically affect him. He was able to make his speech diverse and it is not something that is heard
Comparing Take Something Like a Star by Robert Frost and Love Calls Us to the Things of This World by Richard Wilbur
William Smith, Democracy, Deliberation and Disobedience (Paper presented at the UK Association for Legal and Social Philosophy Annual Conference, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, April 2003).
of his father, who ta! kes this theme to heart and the effect it had
Is the death penalty fair? Is it humane? Does it deter crime? The answers to these questions vary depending on who answers them. The issue of capital punishment raises many debates. These same questions troubled Americans just as much in the day of the Salem witch trials as now in the say of Timothy McVeigh. During the time of the Salem witchcraft trials they had the same problem as present society faces. Twenty innocent people had been sentenced to death. It was too late to reverse the decision and the jurors admitted to their mistake. The execution of innocent people is still a major concern for American citizens today.
of a time when he had something to say. The man speaks for the first
Explain the way in which Duffy presents the strengths and limitations of language in two poems. When drawing from both 'Warming Her Pearls' and 'Selling Manhattan' , it is evident that Carol Anne Duffy maintains a certain avant-garde approach to the vast array of possibilities that language presents. She acutely exposes the ambiguity that language holds in its meanings, presenting the reader with endless connotations to consider. Duffy also draws attention to its inability to fully express the extent of human emotions. Both of the above stated poems focus on societal and cultural stratification, with Duffy's use of language carefully designed to emphasise the distance between different social groups. '
The dead beat soldier symbolizes classic 20th century anti-war sentiments. Flesh torn and maggot eaten, skin writhing, crack and molested from heat; the dead beat soldier is presumably one of the most wretched people, and one with the most deathlike traits. Death written in his eyes, he walks fruitlessly with no aim; for one who walks with no purpose is the living dead. Both mind and spirit have been broken, the pieces of body that seem to drop off fall in line with what is already lost; this is the result of war. The soldier can be looked at as the living dead because although he is alive, he is dead in mind and spirit and heart. “He dropped,- more sullenly that wearily, lay stupid like a cod, heavy like meat (Owen, The Deadbeat soldier, 1-2).” “Just blinker at my revolver, blearily; didn’t appear to know a war was on (3-4).” The deadbeat soldier reverts to a fetal like mental state, incapable of noticing or responding to the world around them. This state is not so much a rupture in brutish nature, but a reversion back to nothingness and unknowingness for protection; rather both mind and body shut down from weariness. The dead beat soldier no longer responds to their environment; it’s as if their reality no longer exists. They are not worn from war, but rather circumstance and loss of hope, lives and chance. “It’s Blighty, ‘praps, he sees; his pluck’s all gone, dreaming of all the valiant, they aren’t dead: Bold uncles, smiling ministerially (10-12).” “Maybe his brave young wife, getting her fun. In some new home, ...
In this poem, Blake is trying to dispel the myth of grandeur and glory associated with London and to show the 'real' people of London and how they felt. London was seen and portrayed as a powerful and wonderful city where the wealthy lived and socialised. However, Blake knew that London was really a dirty, depressing and poverty-stricken city filled with slums and the homeless and chronically sick. To reveal the truth, Blake combines description of people and places with the thoughts and emotions of the people. For example, the second stanza says:"In every cry of every Man,In every Infants cry of fear,In every voice: in every ban,The mind forg'd manacles I hear"Blake combines the descriptions of the crying baby and man with the observation that the people oppress their hopes and dreams, figuratively 'chaining up their minds' because they know that they will never be able to achieve their dreams. Another Example is in the third stanza when Blake describes the crying chimney-sweep and then the "blackning church", but is really saying that the church does not want to dirty its hands by helping the soot-covered [black] chimney sweep. Therefore, a "blackning church" is one that helps the common, dirty people, and Blake says that "every blackning church appalls", showing that the aristocracy and those in positions of power did not want the church that they supported associating with the common people.Throughout the poem, Blake uses fairly simple language, punctuated with the occasional obscure word, but generally the more common words, probably to appeal to the common people who he was supporting through this poem.In writing this poem, Blake is trying to make the reader understand the truth about London and understand about the 'real' people, and he is also encouraging the church, and the aristocracy to help the common people and to support them instead of pushing them away and disregarding them.
...ith valid consideration. Deliberation can only work when deliberators embrace views contrary to their own and learn how to work with people holding contrary views.