Ethics Final Exam Review

Intellectual virtues

Wisdom, Understanding

Moral virtues

Generosity, self control

Principle of the Golden MEan

Virtue is always the media between two extremes of character

What are the 6 pillars of character?

Trustworthiness

Respect

Responsibility

Fairness

Caring

Citizenship

Trustworthiness

Encompasses honesty and meeting one’s obligations

Respect

Admonishes us treat each person with respect and not as a means to an end

Responsibility

Standing up for one’s choices and being accountable

Fairness (CH2)

Involves issues of equality, impartiality, and due process

Caring

Encompasses the ideas of altruism and benevolenceC

Citizenship

Requires us to fulfill the duties of every citizen; e.g., voting

Natural law is difficult to describe because

this system is identifying what is consistent and congruent with the

natural inclinations of humankind

Examples of natural being used to restrict the right and liberties of groups of people

White supremacy was used to support and justify slavery

Women as child-bearers restricted their employment opportunities

Marriage between a man and woman for procreation

Christianity

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Judaism

Whatsoever thou wouldst that men should not do unto thee, do

not do that to them

Hinduism

Do naught to others which, if done to thee, would cause thee

pain: this is the sum of duty

Buddhism

In five ways should a clansman minister to his friends and

familiars . . . by treating them as he treats himself

Legalist

God is inviolable and that positions on moral questions are absolute

Situationalist

God’s will varies by time and place; Something may be right or wrong depending on the circumstances

Humans can “know” God’s will in three ways

Individual conscience (faith)

Religious authorities

Holy scriptures

1st Principle of Kant’s categorical imperative of morality

Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it

should become a universal law

2nd Principle of Kant’s categorical imperative of morality

Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of any other, never simply as a means but always at the same time as an end

3rd Principle of Kant’s categorical imperative of morality

Act as if you were, through your maxims, a lawmaking member of a kingdom of ends

Absolutist system

Assassinating evil dictators would still be killing and considered immoral

Criticisms of ethical formalism

Sometimes exceptions to any moral rule

Unresponsive to extreme circumstances

Morality is limited to duty

The priority of motive and intent over result is problematic in some instances

Utilitarianism

Claims that the greatest good is that which results in the greatest

happiness for the greatest number; Teleological system

Teleological ethical system

What is good is determined by the consequences

of the action

Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832)

Human nature seeks to maximize pleasure and avoid pain, and a moral

system must be consistent with this natural fact

The “restorative justice” movement is

Consistent with the ethics of care

Peacemaking process

An ancient approach to justice that includes the concepts of compassion and care, connectedness, and mindfulness

Connectedness

With each other

Caring

As a natural inclination

Mindfulness

Of other in all decisions

When discussing justice, there are three continuing themes:

fairness, equality, and impartiality

Fairness (CH3)

Refers to equal shares or treatment

Equality

Means the same value, rights, or treatment between all in a specific group

Impartiality

Is related to fairness and means not favoring one party or interest over another

The concept of justice originates from the Greek word

Dike

Dike refers to

Everything staying in its proper place

Plato believed justice was achieved by

Maintaining the social status quo

He classed it as one of the four civic virtues (along with wisdom,

temperance, and courage)

Aristotle believed justice was

The basis of law, defining it as the unwritten

customs of a people that distinguish between what is and is not honorable

Lack of freedom and opportunity for slaves and women did not conflict with

justice, as long as the individual was in the role in which, by nature, they

were best suited

Aristotle distinguished between two types of justice

Distributive justice and Corrective justice

Distributive Justice

Concerns what measurement should be used to allocate

society’s resources

Corrective justice

Concerns unfair advantage or undeserved harm between

people

Justice involves rightful possession of

Economic goods (income or property)

Opportunities for development (education or citizenship)

Recognition (honor or status)

Two valid claims to possession are

Need and Desert

Lucas identified distributions based on

need, merit, performance, ability, rank, station, worth, work, agreements, requirements of the common good, valuation of services, and legal entitlement

Egalitarian theories

Distribution should ensure equal shares for all

Marxist theories

Distribution should be based on need

Libertarian theories

Distribution should take place without government

interference

Utilitarian theories

Distribution should maximize benefit for society

Corrective justice is concerned with

dispensing punishment

Substantive justice

Refers to issues of inherent fairness

Just punishment is one that is

Proportional to the degree of harm

Two philosophies are applied to how to punish

retributive justice and utilitarian justice

Utilitarian justice

Balance and proportionality; This only support punishment if it benefits society. Punishment is to deter offenders from future crime

Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham

hedonistic calculus

Hedonistic calculus

measures the potential rewards of a crime so the amount of threatened pain could be set to deter people from committing that crime

Due process

exemplifies procedural justice

Due process includes

Notice of charges

Neutral hearing body

Right of cross-examination

Right to present evidence

Representation by counsel

Statement of findings

Appeal

Procedural justice research

Illustrates importance of procedural justice as it affects legitimacy of entire

justice system

Two criteria must be present for the process to be perceived as fair

Voice and Control

Voice

An individual’s ability to have a say during proceedings

Control

The ability or power to have some influence over the outcome

Elements of procedural justice include

Voice, neutrality, respect, trustworthiness

Confirmatory bias

when investigators focus on a suspect and ignore

contradictory evidence

In cases of true innocence,

the actual perpetrator may go on to commit more crimes

Restorative justice emphasizes

Compensation over retibution

Restorative justice returns focus to

Rights and needs of the victim

The propositions of the Restorative Justice movement are

Justice requires restoring victims, offenders, and communities who have

been injured by crime

Victims, offenders, and communities should have the opportunity to be a fully active part of the justice process

Government should restore order, but the community should establish peace

A trend toward “community justice” was part of

the larger movement of community empowerment and development

Restorative justice programs can be broadly differentiated into four key areas:

Victim-offender mediation schemes

Conferencing based on the ancient concepts

Peace circles

The realm of international crimes

Potential problems and criticisms of Restorative Justice

Victims may feel pressured to forgive before they are ready

Unequal punishments given out for identical offenses

Restorative justices offers an alternative that can be supported by

Ethics of care, utilitarianism, religion, and possibly other ethical systems

All human behavior is learned: therefore ethics is

a function of learning rather than reasoning

Modeling

Values and moral beliefs are patterned after those one admires and aspires to identify with

Reinforcement

Behaviors and beliefs that are reinforced are repeated and eventually become permanent.

The individual develops values consistent with the behavior (cognitive dissonance)

Bandura states the following

Successful socialization requires gradual substitution of symbolic and

internal controls for external sanctions and concrete rewards

The concept of self-efficacy

The individual’s sense of competence is developed through comparison to

others

Moral identity is composed of

Moral agency. Involves intent, anticipation of consequences, and self-regulation

Moral efficacy is the belief that

one can successfully decide to act in moral ways

Ethical Climate and Organizational Justice

Research explores the ability to measure the “ethical climate” of an organization

What can affect ethical climate?

Leadership, reward structure, and organizational messages

Primary vehicles for decision-making can include

Self-interest, company profit, efficiency, friendship, team interest, social

responsibility, personal morality, company rules/procedures, and

laws/professional codes

There are 3 basic ethical orientations

Egoism

Benevolence

Principle

A strong ethics program results in

less pressure to perform unethical acts, less misconduct, and less retaliation against whistleblowers

Crime Control and Due Process models

Current focus on moving perception of policing from “warrior” model to that of “guardian”

Guardian approach sees officer as primarily protectors of the citizenry and democratic values

Increasingly militarized over last 30 years

Peter Kraska and Radley Balko

1033 Program

Police power has historically been used against

the powerless in society; slaves, immigrants, labor organizers, and the poor

Police in 1920’s

police “professionalism” sought to improve police image as objective

enforcers of the law

Police 1930s to 1960s

Red Squads

1960s to 1970s

antiwar groups

Early role of social service resurrected in the

community policing movement. Officers develop closer relationships with community leaders to help solve social problems

Potential issues involved in community policing strategies

Trading in the crime fighter role for a much less esteemed social worker role

Discretion

is the authority to choose between two or more courses of action,

depending on how they perceive their duty

Duty

is the responsibilities that are attached to a specific role

Wilson, in one of the classic typologies, described policing styles

The legalistic style of policing

The watchman style

The caretaker style

Discretion comes into play in a variety of instances, including when

the officer is faced with situations that have no good solutions

Mental health crisis

About 25% of police shootings involve a mentally distressed person

Divert 911 calls concerning a mental health crisis to appropriate social services to avoid a

high risk of police using deadly force against the person, especially if that person is black

Domestic violence disputes

Historically was noninterference unless felony assault

Noble-cause corruption

the utilitarian concept that the “end” of crime

fighting justifies “means” that might otherwise be illegal, unethical, and/or

against rules or regulations. Police culture endorses or tolerates this type of activity

Testilying

includes reordering facts, adding details, or omitting information. It

is also referred to as shading, fluffing, firming up, or shaping.