"The real significance of crime is in its being a breach of faith with the community of mankind" - the great Joseph Conrad
For week 2, respond to one or more of the following questions:
Are there different levels of crime? Are some crimes worse than others? How do you rank what's worse?
For example, is it worse to break a promise to a friend or to cheat on a test? Is it worse to NOT help someone in need or to damage someone's property? Is there such thing as a just crime? a just war? How can we make these types of decisions? (I'm not asking you to answer THESE questions in particular, but to think about and discuss them in a general sense.) Feel free to use Crime and Punishment to support your opinions!
How do we know what's wrong or right? Where do we get our value systems? Does everyone have the same one? How do you know your value system is the right one to follow?
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67 comments:
How do we know what's wrong or right (1)? Where do we get our value systems (2)? Does everyone have the same one (3)? How do you know your value system is the right one to follow (4)?
(1) I believe that we ourselves define what's right or wrong. Once upon a time, back when I pretended to be a Christian, it was explained to me by a youth minister that, there has to be a universal truth (and from that truth, we get right or wrong and whether or not to eat shellfish); no explanation for why, but apparently there has to be one. He believed that truth was the Bible. Me, not so much; I believe that we, as members of society define right or wrong. Of course, you could argue that when you let society define what's acceptable, you get things like the Holocaust in Germany. However, I like to pretend that there is a little bit of good in this world, and therefore things like that will always be defined as wrong by civilized people.
(2) We get our value system from any number of places. For many, it is found in religion. For others, it's what mommy and daddy told them. Myself, I get a major part of mine from the question "would I like it if somebody did this to me?" That last little bit is the tricky one; that one depends on the situation.
(3) Absolutely not, and you can argue whether that could be good or bad. Good because if everybody had the same value system, there wouldn't be things like war, murder, and McDonald's. Bad because my head would explode if I were forced to have the same values as some people in this world.
(4) That depends. If you're going by the religious values, you could say because your religious text says so. From parents/how you were raised: would mommy approve? For mine: if I can sit down at night and be happy with myself for what I did, that's good enough.
So is it worse to break a promise to a friend or cheat on a test? I think it depends on what you value more: your integrity (the test) or this cow excrement concept called honor (breaking a promise). Really, it just depends on what you value more.
As a side note, why are things like Hiroshima and kamikazes included? For starters, everything America does is automatically ordained by Christ himself, with ponies, so there's no way it can be wrong... (really, I don't think either is wrong; both groups were soldiers [airmen, really] carrying out orders. You can argue that the orders were wrong, but in these cases I don't believe it's right to blame the guy at the low end of the totem pole.)
Looking at crimes as a religious view all crimes are on the same level, they are all grouped as sins. However, that is not how we as a society look at it. We group the crimes differently and class them. Yes, killing someone is worse than stealing a couple bucks from someone, but it is still wrong. Now the punishment should be different for the two but they still should be looked at as being both really wrong.
If we, for example, lie to a friend, then our consciences would feel guilty and we would want to tell the truth. We can feel what is right and wrong through what happens because of our actions. I believe our parents, church, and we ourselves define what is wrong and right. Not everyone feels the same way about everything. Some people might believe that telling a little lie is okay and their conscience does not bother them, but some people would lose sleep over telling a lie. Raskolnikov kills two women and he feels remorse and guilt for what he has done, to the point where he turns himeself in because he feels such guilt. I believe if you can look at yourself in the mirror and you like who you see then your conscience is okay. Religion would help you determine if your value system is right also. If we do something that the ten commandments says not to do, then maybe we might want to rethink our value system. But then again we are human, and we are definitely not perfect.
Everyone has a different moral standard, even though many of ours are similar because of our upbringing and religious backround. Although a student at Collierville High is going to most likely have a very different opinion about morals than Raskolnikov, at some point there has to be a line drawn where everyone can, at a certain extent, agree on what is right and what is wrong. I think almost everyone can agree that murder commited for no other reason at all then to just kill, is wrong. Even though we can sit and class and argue for days about whether or not Raskolnikov is a moral character or not, I honestly do not think that we will ever be able to come to a unanimous decision. There are too many factors to include in such an arguement, and the fact is we all do have differing ideas of what morality is defined as.
I think there are several different levels of crime. If you look at how our government punishes people, some people get bigger sentences than others. That's purely because some people commit greater crimes than others. Look at a person being charged with murder, for instance. Some people get off with easier than others with self defense as an excuse while others plead insanity or are charged with manslaughter. So obviously our government considers some crimes more harsh than others.
You also have to think about what you would consider a crime. Is something as simple as lying to your parents a crime or is that considered something less? I think we rank how bad our own crimes are in the end. Society plays a large roll in what we think but we are the ones that make the final decision.
Everyone has got basically the same sense of right and wrong. They might very a little bit because of religion or family but for the most part I think that they're all pretty similar. Murder is wrong, especially an unprovoked one, so no, Raskolnikov isn't moral.
I think that what defines different levels of crime is the circumstances that it was committed in. Say, you were killing someone for self-defense is considered not as bad of a crime as killing an innocent person out of cold blood. The law takes the circumstances into account as well. The person who killed for protection will get a lighter sentence than the one that killed for no reason.
When we are young, we are taught what's right and wrong by our parents; the way you are influenced when you are young affects how you are as an adult. We all have a conscience, but whether or not we listen to it is our decision.
I think it is very difficult to say who is right and who is wrong because everyone has their own view of things. Some say that murdering is fine under certain contexts while to some it is always a sin. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov is able to justify the murder to himself for awhile but to others it was a senseless crime. No matter what your action, there will be some who agree with it and others who do not. Trying to gauge morality and right and wrong is impossible because everyone has a bit different code of ethics they live by. Some have no morals at all.
I think we determine whats wrong and right basically from the environment and society that surrounds us. Although they may not necessarily be right, or have the right values. In this case majority rules. You will never have a society that completely agrees on everything because everyone has minor different opinions, and sometimes its just easier to disagree with the opposing sides than trying to fight it. the ideas from right and wrong start at your a childhood and from your parents but as you experience life and specific situations you start to form an opinion of your own. so most values come from experience. theres no way to tell if your right or wrong, but if you feel good about who you are and what your doing then you should feel like your doing the right thing. its not so much about what other people think is wrong or how they decide you should live. "it is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living life to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found". one of my favorite quotes by chris mccandles. now this is not saying its ok to go around killing people because you find enjoyment in it..no one really knows whats its like to kill someone on this blog so you cant immediately say that Raskolnikov is wrong or evil. he had a good intention and felt that if he went through with it, it would make other peoples lives easier. im sure that everyone whose committed a crime has done it for some reason other than to be doing something bad, or wrong. its more than just right or wrong... theres an entire situation of wrong doing, and maybe even a repentance for it. heck why else would there be a 500 pg book written about one mans crime?
Personally I feel there are different levels of crime. According to Christianity, in God's eyes all crimes are sins and they are all equal, but the government is not as forgiving. The government is responsible for properly punishing crimes. I think that some crimes are obviously worse than others and some fall into a gray area. Like we said in class, what is worse, a man who kills a mean, old woman or a nasty gambler who rapes a young girl? I think intent means a lot when describing why one crime is worse than another, but in the end murder is murder.
Many people base what's right and wrong on society and religion, and a lot of people's values are shaped by these two things along with their family and friends. People are influenced by all types of religions and people and other things, that is why everyone will never have the same value system. For example, some people have no guilt about under-aged drinking or doing drugs, while other people would never think of it. In the end, society will always set a standard for values, but individuals will conform to their beliefs and the beliefs of the people who influence them.
I think there are some crimes that depend on the circumstances to decide whether the crime is deserved or not. I do think that if there is no both rational and moral reason, it is a crime in the true sense. I believe it's up to a higher authority to decide whether that's the case, and we just do the best we can with all that we've learned.
Yes, there are different levels of crime. The world is not in black in white; gray areas of morality exist. I would say you rank crimes by how much harm to they do and how many they harm.
Obviously you can justify a crime, but I don't think you can call it a "just crime" if it was really a crime (meaning that there was something wrong with it). Yes, there is such thing as a "just war" because war is not always a negative thing. War takes lives and resources, but it also produces jobs (like how WWII pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression) and defends citizens.
There are lots of moral codes out there, and I don't think you can ever know for sure that yours is the right one to follow. You could say that you know somewhere in your heart/soul that it's the right thing to do, but many other people could say the exact same thing about their morals. So, when it comes right down to it, no one is going to able to confirm for you that your belief system is good and right, you get to choose for yourself.
I believe there are definately levels of crime, not necessarily that I disagree with all sins being equal because not all crimes are sins. Just because you are speeding on the highway doesn't mean you sinned. Some crimes are definitely worse than others because they all have different results and effects. Though stealing is very wrong, it is not as bad of a crime as murdering someone. Murdering someone is irreversible, you cannot bring that person back to life and now that victims family has to live without him or her. Murder takes away that person's right to live. Stealing, however, can be remedied. Goods and money can be returned. Money does not have near as much value as a life. That is not to say that one is a worse sin because a sin is a sin and the same concept does not necessarily apply to crimes.
Whether there are different levels of crime or not depends on what standpoint you are looking at it from. For example, if you are approaching the question from a religious standpoint, the Bible says that all sins are equal; no matter what the sin is , it's still a sin. From a civil standpoint, stealing candy from the grocery store is far less hostile than beating someone to death with the blunt end of an axe. Even in the Bible, however, the punishment of a crime is based on what crime was committed. A crime is judged by how much harm it causes to the victim, and therefore, some crimes are worse than others.
The only way we know what is right or wrong is by using religion as a guide, but for those who don't have religion there is no way to truly KNOW what is right or wrong. We get our value systems from our religions, laws, and upbringing, so most people believe differently. There is really no way to know for sure that your value system is the right way to follow and that someone else's is the wrong on; the only way for your value system to be right is for it to be right for you.
Some people have been harsh on Little Raskol. If we are supposed to gather that he is immoral just because he committed the crime, then what is the purpose of the final 300+ pages? At the other extreme, some people say the crime itself is moral. I believe Rodya is in a constant struggle to become moral as the novel progresses, and he proves this with his confessing and accepting punishment.
In other words, morality cannot be judged solely on the good things or bad things we do. Morality is the effort we put forth to and the success we have in paralleling the system of values we believe in.
I think all sin is equally bad in a religious viewpoint, yet as people, we do tend to rank crimes as worse than or not as bad as others. I tend to rank crimes based on what type of harm comes to the victim, for example, a murder is worse than shoplifting, because death is worse than having a few materials stolen. The environment a person is raised in and his/her upbringing tends to affect their definitions of right and wrong. We just have to use what we believe and what we know to form a system of values that can be followed and stuck to. Most people get their value systems from their parents, their religion, or both. There are a lot of things that can be agreed upon as right or wrong, yet people usually differ in opinion on the degree of right or wrong each thing is. You just have to trust your instincts and knowledge to form the value system you think is right. I believe the mindset behind the crime and how one deals with it has a lot to due with the severity of the crime also. For example, Sonia became a prostitute to help out her family, which I view less harshly than someone becoming a prostitute for selfish reasons. Also, I am able to see Rodia as moral due to the overwhelming guilt he feels and his start on the path of redemption at the end of the novel. Criminal actions are less important than the thinking behind commiting the crime.
In a Biblical sense (which I find bizarre for people to view this in considering they would have to be God Himself), all sins are equal in His eyes. However, in a country, such as the United States, the government must decide the degrees of a crime. Yes, there are different levels of crime. And yes, some can be viewed as "worse" than another one. One must know what they believe is right and wrong to decide what act is worse. One must use the upbringing of his/her family to influence the decisions. Personally, an act of self-defense is not as bad as an act of pre-meditation massacre. The only system of government that seems to make all things equal would be Hammurabi's code, "Eye for an eye," and so on. So in short, yes there are levels of crime, yes some crimes are worse than others, and you can only rank crimes based on what one believes. Should there be levels? Should certain crimes be worse? It is certainly debateable. However, society and our form of government believe it is necessary.
From my Christian perspective, I believe that all crimes are on the same level. A sin is a sin whether you lie or murder. However, in our society, all people do not exactly agree with this for several reasons. Legally and culturally, crimes are ranked and these differing agencies have a great influence over society. In most cases, if not all, people develop their moral systems based off of their environment and personal experiences. Because of the differing moral systems, it makes it hard for us as unperfect people to determine the "rightness" or "wrongness" of another's moral system.
I think that all crimes are the same, just as all sins are viewed as being equally wrong in God's eyes. However, the consequences of crimes are what distinguish them from each other. For instance, murdering a person with an axe will probably lead to worse effects than stealing a couple of bucks from someone. Society does tend to rank certain crimes as having a lesser value than others, and through time many wrongdoings have become insignificant. Perhaps this widespread acceptance was partially due to the fact that many people today do not believe that some crimes have any true consequence, when in reality some form of guilt should follow.
Like many other people have said before me, all sins are equal in God's eyes, and I believe that is the way we are supposed to look at things. By ranking our sins or crimes, we are allowing ourselves to get away with the little things. For example, if someone steals somehthing, he may be able to justify it in his mind, thinking, "Well at least I didn't murder someone." Of course it is most peoples' natural tendancy to rank the things that people do wrong, but I think it is important to remember that the smaller things are just as wrong as the bigger things. A positive thing about viewing all sins in the same light is that nothing is unforgivable! Also, it is extremely hard not to take pity on people like Sonya, who sin with good intentions, but what she did was still wrong. She felt like it was her only option, but the truth is that God would have taken care of her according to his will.
I think we learn our morals from a variety of sources. The majority is taught by our parents and the other adults in our lives. We watch things they do and learn from their actions. Also, every religion has it's rights and wrongs. As we get older though we tell ourselves our own views; these are simply acquired as we learn and grow. I believe that most morals have been in our knowledge since before we were born, yet they are only recognized until much later in our lives. A majority of our thoughts and ideas are shaped by society, our morals are no different. The truth is that we decide what is right or wrong.
There are definitely different levels of crime. I find it ridiculous that, let's say, lying about not doing chores could be seen as being on the same tier as murdering a human being. That does not make lying right though, especially if the lie can truly affect one's life, but, really, lying is not "criminal" (unless of course one is in court and has sworn to "tell the truth and nothing but the truth"). Even other things, I believe, such as shoplifting, which are considered criminal, are still not quite as bad as spilling human blood. These kind of things normally really only hurt the people who commit them because they will have to live with what they've done for the rest of their lives
I do believe that abuse, harassment, and most importantly murder are incredibly wrong. Abuse and harassment can hurt others physically, mentally, and emotionally, and those who do these things should definitely be punished based on the severity of it. Murder is absolutely the worst thing anyone can do.
I just read an article in the news yesterday about how a boy in India killed a girl at his school because she refused to hand over her iPod to him. The intent of his murder and those similar just sicken me. Intent is definitely a strong factor in how bad the crime is. Killing someone in defense of yourself or a loved one is not nearly as bad as heinously killing just to kill.
In class, we argued about whether Sonya, being a prostitute, was just as bad as Raskolnikov. I completely do not see her as being a bad or immoral person. As sad and possibly funny as it may sound, maybe Sonya had no other "skills." If she and her family were desparate enough for money for her to need to become a prostitute, then they must not have had enough money to put her through school. Therefore, she probably would have trouble getting any other kind of job without some type of schooling, not to mention how it was probably already extremely difficult to get a job as a woman during those times.
In terms of where I believe we get our value systems, it varies. Those who are religious will most likely believe what their religion tells them. Those who are not will probably believe either what they were taught by their parents and loved ones or just go by how an act makes them feel. Personally, I just mostly listen to what my heart and conscious tell me. If the idea of something gives me a negative feeling inside, then I do not do it. If something makes me feel good about myself, then I will. What can make me sad and make me feel bad about myself sometimes is how my friends view decisions that I have made. However, as much as I value their opinions and (if they are a true friend) know that they care about me and just do not want me to make a bad choice, I mostly just follow my heart.
There will always be opposing opinions about such difficult topics as these, and all we can really do is pick the side that works for us and stick with it.
Throughout our society there are many different right and wrongs known by each other. But our society as a whole understand that every person has different morals. But these different morals should not affect punishment for crimes. Coming from a religous perspective a crime is a crime, they are sin and sin is never a good thing. No matter if the crime/sin is cheating a loved one or murder they are both still wrong. Regardless these crimes are not exactly on the same level they are wrong in many ways and deserve a punishment for them. Though the punishment for a murder would be worse then the one for cheating the people still have a lesson learned.
When you look at the level of crimes from a biblical perspective, some sins are regarded as worse than others. For some sins, God commanded his people in the Old Testament to kill that person, and other sins just required an animal sacrifice of some kind. All sins are bad, but some deserve worse consequences. I think that the severity of a crime is depends on how much others suffer because of it. A murder takes someone's life, while stealing can make a person upset because of the loss of money. Murder is considered far worse than stealing because a person pays the ultimate price.
In society there are different levels of crime. someone that steels something is punished less than someone who commits a murder. In society's eyes, different crimes are worse than others and i agree with that. However, in God's eyes, every sin is viewed as equal.
To steal a pack of gum or to steal a life. Both derive from the art of theft. Gum can be bought by mere coins, but how much can a life cost? The value of what is being destroyed and the repercussions afterwards determine the many different levels of crime.
I believe that some crimes are worse than others, especially if it affects a whole mass of people. I would rank a crime on the amount of harm inflicted upon oneself and others. We know what's wrong or right based upon our upbringing and conscious. We get our value systems from experience. You know your value system is the right one to follow when you don't have the urge to question your decision making skills and see a positive outcome from the way you live your life.
It depends on your own views. If you look at crime from a bibical sense then all crimes are equal in the eyes of God. We as a society on the other hand seperate crimes with different levels of punishment to fit each individual crime. We tend to rank crimes based on how much they hurt someone else. Murder, for example, is taking someones life and you can never get that back, but theft is only taking properity so we are programmed to think of that as a lesser offense.
I think you get your morals from your belief system. As a Christian, I learned from the Bible what is right and wrong. I know what God says is good and what God says is bad and I try to live my life to praise Him. Although as a society, we tend to group crimes together on different levels. In God's eyes it's all the same.
I think the severity of the crime depends on the belief system of a person, or the society he/she lives in. For example, some people view all sins/crimes as equal because the Bible depicts them as equal. However, in most societies, crimes are viewed on different levels. Murder, for example, is viewed as much more severe than possesion of marijuana. The way crimes are ranked all depends on the beliefs and opinions of society.
In the Christian faith, as some people have already mentioned, all crimes are ranked equally, no crime is worse than another. But personally, lying to a friend is not as serious as committing a murder. Society creates different levels for different punishments. The death penalty for major crimes, and probation for minor crimes. I believe a lot of this is personal. Someone with unjust "morals" may not think cheating on a test is so bad, especially if their grade depends on it. This is a difficult subject, but I guess my opinion is it's all relative to the situation, the person, and their beliefs.
I believe that value systems are a personal decision although society has a definite role in shaping them. The pathway to leading a happy life is fullfilling your own personal dreams and living up to your standard of a "good person". Living up to the standards of other people will never make a person content.
It is, however, true that the majority of society conforms to the same basic principles of right and wrong. It seems to be a simple fact that murder, adultry and things of that nature are inevitably wrong. Some may argue that the overwhelming tendency towards conforming is a bad thing when it could be essential to survival. Imagine a world in which nobody agreed on even the seemingly most obvious of issues. Nothing would ever get accomplished and nobody would ever be happy. As a society it is our obligation to work together to improve the world, not a find a way to disagree on as many topics as possible.
Knowing which value system to follow is in a sense the goal of life. Throughout life people are constantly learning lessons and making mistakes. I believe that one of the ultimate goals of a person's life is to discover which value system fits you best and enables you to be the greatest you can be.
I think that there are different levels of crime in the sense that not all crimes are the same. Say that one man is on trial for robbing a candy store and another is on trial for murder. The one on trial for robbing the store will most likely not get the same punishment, death, like the man on trial for murder. I think, for the most part, it comes down to how dangerous the situation is. People can get over hearing about a store robbery but they find it harder to get over a murder.
Different levels of crime all depend on the person who is looking at it. Everyone has different morals and some might consider different crimes worse than others. It all really depends on who is deciding which crime is worse.
On the other hand, Pety crimes like lying to your parents or cheating on a test are completely incomparable to that of premeditated murder or grand theft. Crime does not really have levels, but categories. For instance, one could not put going twenty over the speed limit in the same category as manslaughter. In my opinion there are pety crimes and heinous crimes.
People will always have differing scales to decided what crimes are worse than others; however, i think most people can agree that the worser crime is the one that harms more people, either physically or mentally.
As a society, we give different crimes different punishments. If someone disregards a stop sign, no one's going to demand that they be sent to jail.
What is deemed a crime varies, obviously, from person to person. Depending on one's own interpretation, the action, thought, or whatever it may be can take a variety of tolls on the individual physically, emotionally, and spiritually. In some circumstances, one may feel nothing for a crime committed, and for this reason law was inevitably created. Not to say everyone taken to court for a crime feels no shame, but regulation of the standard punishment for certain crimes is a necessity. It isn't a cure-all, or even a cure-most, but it binds society in some sort of order.
I think that all crimes are the same. They all require someone to chose between doing what is right and wrong. Most people have the same sense of right and wrong, despite how they were raised or what they are familiar with.
I definately think that there different levels of crimes. Murdering someone for no reason is a far worse crime than stealing something. Although both are bad and the person should be punished, the punishment for murder should be worse. As to lying and cheating, the only real punishment would be the person's guilty conscience. Even though there are different levels of crime, they are all seen as wrong in God's eyes.
Like others have said, I believe we all get our moral beliefs from religions. I believe that there can be no ranking in crimes. All crimes are seen the same in God's eyes. To him, lying to a friend and murdering someone is on the same level. Although this is easy to forget. I think that the most important part of a crime is the reaction to it. For example, Raskolnikov and Svidrigaylov both commited crimes, but Raskolnikov finally repented. I think the aftermath is the most important thing and that is what defines our character.
there are different levels of crime and some are definitely worse than others. murder for instance is a million times worse than than maybe cheating on a test. many christians believe that all sins should be considered equal, but I don't think that follows any kind of common sense. you can tell which lies are worse than others by just using your head and examining the situation. if you had two kids and one robbed a bank but the other lied about their math grade, should they both just get a time out? NO!! their crimes aren't equal and anyone can see which is worse.
From a religious standpoint (as a Christian) all sins are equal. But sins and crimes are not always the same thing; take for instance using the Lord's name in vain. There is no law against that even though it is one of the ten commandments and, in a matter of speaking, a "bigger" sin.
I personally believe that there are different levels of crime. The main reason for punishment is to deter a crime from happening in the first place or teach a criminal not to do that crime again. Look at it this way: should the same punishments be given to murders and those who steal a stop sign for fun? Both are crimes in America. Are both wrothy of some sort of punishment? YES! If not than there would be nothing stopping or discouraging crime in the first place.
Most people get their values from an innate sense of right and wrong and what they've been taught by their parents. However, society also dictates what can constitute a crime as well, even though it may not always be right. For example, it was perfectly legal for a slave owner to beat his slaves without reason. Slaves are still people, and by today's standards, that is a crime.
Society, religion, and the innate sense of right and wrong typically agree on what constitues crime. However, the discrepencies are present and cause enough controversy. I believe that if one were to follow what he/she believes is right, (without major conflict with society or religion) he/she will have a clear conscience.
i think that what is right and wrong is different for every person. it depends on where you grow up and get your values. your parents are very influential as well as whatever religion or lack of religion you are brought up in. when you are little your parents tell you what is right or wrong, but eventually you form a conscience based on what you think of the things your parents taught you, as your conscience forms, you begin to decide what is right for you, it all depends on the person, there is no universal standard ofright and wrong.
I strongly believe that there is no such thing as just a crime, because there is always an alternate motive of course of action. For example, in the case of Raskolnikov's murders in Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov doesn't just kill for revenge, there are several reasons behind them. Ultimately, I think Raskolnikov is moral and I believe that killed for a reasons unknown to us.
I think that our discrepency between right and wrong comes mainly from our environment. Religiopn, family morals, laws, etc. all effect how we decide between right and wrong. We take in all of these factors and choose the pones that will dictate our morals. For example, some people are Christian, yet they have taken on society's view that is is okay to take the Lord's name in vain also. Therefore, not everyone has the same set of morals becasue not everyone chooses to follow the same thing. You can't know which is right necessarily, you just have to have faith that your set of morals is the right one.
As for whether or not there are clasifications of crime, I think that there certainly are, and these usually come from the set of morals that we set up. I mean, lying is certainly a bad thing to do, but it seems to me that murdering someone else in cold blood would hurt your soul a lot more. A lie is certainly much more easily attoned for than a murder.
Well, through this post, I am sure to sound quite dark and pessimistic. Le sigh. Oh well. I believe that crime is relative to everyone, and that the code of ethics we follow is quickly evolving to suit our own needs. We are selfish beings, and we definitely do not like to go against our own desires for the good of the group. The main code we follow is that of the government, followed closely by that belonging to religion. Since both religion and government are headed by man, both are corruptable. (I am using religion in this sense to describe the institution of the church, not the spiritual relationships formed there.) Thus, I do not believe crime should be able to be judged by us.
It is interesting to note the different "levels" of crime. It is similar to the discussion on whether or not a simple 'white lie' is truly a lie. Of course murder is viewed as a greater level of crime, in the justice system, than petty theft. But what if the murder (or if not murder, then the act of killing) is justified? For example, if a criminal forcibly enters into your home, and you kill him, this can be viewed as self-defense, and, possibly, not even a crime at all. It is a 'just' killing. However, it is still a killing. Ultimately, the question comes down to your personal values and beliefs, both the ones instilled upon you by your parents and society, to determine what is right and wrong. It is with these values that one ranks the levels of crime.
The society you're brought up in greatly influences your morals. People may not want to admit it, but the media has an enormous impact on the way people react to situations. I don't think natural instincts play as much of a role in our decisions as the learned reactions we acquire over time. If a newborn grows up in the wild with no human interaction, he'll act like an animal with nothing to tell him otherwise. Of course, society alone doesn't shape a person. Your family dictates much of your decisions during the formative years, so that your mind immediately begins associating certain behaviors and actions as either good or bad. I think that, for the most part, people have a pretty realistic grasp on the effects their beliefs have on themselves and others, so that they can make a decision about how to act. Lapses in judgment are to be expected though, and society stays strong.
It is up to an individual to decide what is wrong or right, which is why everyone has their own version of being moral. If there was one set description of rights and wrongs for the world to go by, then morality obviously wouldn't be as controversial. Now, whether or not everyone even has a sense of right and wrong...that's the question of the century.
Value systems are ultimately prevalent in governmental laws, religious commands and restrictions, and within families.
This is where the most disagreement comes in because, no, not every value system is the same. A government may forbid killing, but a religion may accept it (not one that I've ever been in...).
I don't think anyone genuinely knows if the value system they believe in is true. They may believe with all of their heart that it is, but there is no way of actually knowing. As hopeless and pessimistic as that sounds, it seems sadly true. There are too many opposing views and stubborn followers to try and compromise. Therefore, the world will forever question what is truly right and what is truly wrong.
There is no definite hierarchy of crime: the infinite differentiation in personal values does not allow a universal answer. Also, crime and its level of negativity may be defined and justified, based on circumstances.
I think that no one really knows what's right and wrong. We all conform to a set standard of morales influenced by some kind of outside perspective (i.e. religion, the government's laws, etc.). And it's silly to think that everyone has the same value system. I mean seriously, if we did, there would be no murders, no stealing, and no suicides.
My value system may not be the right one to follow, but either way it works for me and for society. If everyone were to have the same value system, life would honestly be boring. There would be gray clouds and no excitement. Seriously.
(1) I believe that there are different levels of crime. For example, the government decides on how big of a crime one has committed through different sentences, whether it be 1 month, 10 years, a lifetime, or even death Another example would be that a murder is a far greater crime than loitering in the "no loitering outside the restaurant" sign. It is very difficult to determine who receives what level of crime because we all have our own beliefs on what crime is greater than another.
Question: Are there different levels of crime?
Answer: Yes
Question: Are some crimes worse than others?
Answer: Yes
Question: How do you rank what's worse?
Answer: Depends on who you ask
That's the simple answer.
Of course, there is a lot of politically correct terms for the different crimes and offenses but that's besides the point. Yes there are different levels of crime. Theft, Vandalisim, Murder, these three things have one common thing: they are all types of crimes. But if you steal should you get a death penalty sentence. No you shouldn't that's ridiculous. In a way the severity of crimes depends on if they can be fixed, mended, or made up for. For example, you steal something well you can return the item or compensate the difference in money. You vandalize property, you can clean it up or serve community service hours. You kill someone, you can't bring them back. You took their life from them. All their possibilities and their future. Yours should be too. Sure you could be sentenced to death but really that's the easy way out. You no longer have to suffer with the crime you committed or the guilt or the normal stresses of life anymore. If you rot in prison your constantly reminded everyday why your still there.
So really in today's society or laws and punishment for crimes and their severity are based around materialism.
Are there different levels of crime? Are some crimes worse than others? How do you rank what's worse?
In God's eyes, all crimes/sins are equal. Religion plays a large role in determining whether crimes are all the same or different in scale. As a human, I believe there are different levels of crime. For example, cheating is not as bad as a murder. In society, laws and judges determine how severe the crime is and what punishment matches with that crime. Individually, however, I believe our values hold a large amount of influence in how we determine what crime is "worse."
1) I personally believe that we are all born with a conscience, which is also known as the light of Christ. We all have the ability to choose for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. When we came to this earth we obtained free agency, which gives us the opportunity to decide what is moral and what is immoral, therefore the responsibility of morality or immorality lies with the individual.
2) In my opinion, we get our value systems from our parents or from the circumstances in which we were brought up in. I also believe we obtain our value systems from religion, or even our social setting---such as laws.
3) I don't think we all have the exact same value system because we are all brought up differently and have a slightly altered view of whats right and wrong from person to person.
4)Honestly, if it's based on religion, it is something you know in your heart and that you sincerely believe for yourself. I guess there is no factual way you can tell if yours is right, other than by basing it off of your religious books or words. Also, if you feel good about the things that you do and the decisions you make, that can be a testimony in itself whether you are following the right value system.
Not everyone has the same value system. It would be impossible for everyone in the world to hold the same values because of different religions and views. I personally follow the value system that is set forth in the Bible, which I know is the right choice because the Bible is God-breathed. As far as different levels of crime, I think that is definately true in our society. This shown through the different levels of punishment in our judicial system. Obviously, a person would not get the death penalty for cheating on a test or lying to their parents. In our human mind, our logic that God gave us helps us put different levels of punishment on different crimes.
As a Christian I try to remember that God views all sins equally...and forgives all sins equally. However our justice system places different levels of importance on different crimes. For instance, it would be inappropriate for a murderer to go to prison for a few months while a petty thief spends a lifetime in prison. I think our legal system judges the severity of certain crimes in terms of how many people it hurts...or how deeply these people are affected.
As for the question of there being a "just" crime, I believe it was Samuel Adams that said if a law or rule or principle was unjust it was the duty and responsibility of the citizens to do was is right. Whether that means committing a crime or changing the law depends on the circumstances.
When our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence they were committing treason. That was a crime. When Corrie Ten Boom and her sister risked their lives in order to hide persecuted Jews from the Nazi death camps they were disobeying the law. That was a crime.
I believe that although it is important to have respect for the law and obey it to the fullest of your capabilities, it is even more important to first honor your God, and your own sense of right and wrong.
People tend to get their value system from religon, parents, and their society. People have different opinions about what is right and wrong, but most can tell you that murder is wrong. I have learned, through the Bible, that all sins are to God, equal. So, in that respect, lying and stealing and murder, are all equally wrong. For humans, all crimes are not put on the same level of wrongness; murder is considered worse than cheating on a algebra test. But, in my opinion, just because one thing is not as bad as another, doesn't make it okay to do it.
I believe there are different levels of crime. For instance, if a little boy were to steal a candy bar from a grocery store, you wouldn't say that he's immoral. But if a man, such as Raskolnikov, kills an old lady, then he is automatically a wicked person. Yes, i see where some people are coming from when they say this, because killing is by no standards acceptable in society. However, i think that if someone truly feels regret for his crime, then he, as a person, isn't as bad as someone who commits a lesser crime yet feels no remorse whatsoever for what he has done.
Also, in Raskolnikov's case, one has to consider whether he is mentally deranged and quite ill when the planning and actual murdering of the women takes place. I like to think that these factors play a very important influence on his judgment.
*sorry if this doesn't make any sense. I'm really tired. :)*
In distinguishing between right and wrong, people tend to fuse their own beliefs from personal experience, religion, and parents of what is right with societal thoughts/ perspectives on what is right. Raskolnikov portrays this fusion of ideas when he sees the man beating the horse and he knows its wrong; however, he somehow can justify his murders initially.
Although all sins or crimes are defined as equal in the Bible, in today's society, there is a huge gap between murder and minuscule crimes. Today, Raskolnikov not paying his landlady would be considered a "crime" by some. No matter what someone believes is right or wrong, t here is always an opposition or a counter argument. Therefore, personal logic must be used to determine what you believe is right or wrong, and people must act on their own conscious and not the publicized images in society.
There are different levels of crime, and no one person has the right to decided which crimes are worse. That is why we have a goverment in place to decide based on majority rule. It doesn't alsways work exactly like that but nothing is perfect, especially govermental systems.
In God's eyes all sins are equal, but often the levels of crimes in society are are determined by the general public as well as the government. For instance, if you were to go on some random killing rampage, the government will see this crime as far worse than stealing a pencil from someone in school.lw
I believe that there are different levels of crimes. Like if you steal from a store that cannot amount to killing someone. But raping and killing are pretty much on the same level in my book because the killer/rapist steals something from both people.
The way that most people know, or believe, what is right is by how they are raised. You are going to act like your parents because thats the way their parents raised them. This is also how people obtain their value system. Not all peoples value systems are right because we all have a different view of everything.
wooo done.
with 30 minutes to spare !
eh...i probley could have waited longer.
:F
I believe that there are different levels of crime. In general people decide what is wrong and how wrong it is. The reasoning behind why people think different things are wrong, but almost everyone can agree what is wrong and what is okay, it is the degree that is arguable. I personally believe that Eye for an Eye is one of the best punishment methods for people who decide they they want to commit a crime.
Personally, I don't believe that there are levels of crime. Any crime is a sin in God's eyes. However, like many people have said, our society does rate crime. We learn right and wrong from our parents, our environments, and our religion.
I believe there are levels of crime. Doing something that hurts someone else could be worse than doing something immoral just for self benefit. It just depends on the severity. So for me, murder is one of the worst sins commitable, especially since it almost always comes with a motive linked to self-benefit. It is such a heinous crime because life is so sacred and fragile. No other human should have the right to take another's life.
Addressing the question of morals, everyone has different morals. One's own life and experience's as well their family and surroundings define their morals. Conscience and guilt are always paired with one's judgement of right and wrong, and neither of those can come without witnessing wrong or committing it.
Looking through a religious perspective, no crime is better/worse than any other. However, the society in which we live today does rank crimes. Crimes are ranked by the consequences of you commiting that particular crime. For instance if you kill someone, you will receive a heavier punishment than if you simply tell a lie to someone.
I think that there are definitely different levels to crime. If intent didn't play a huge role in the punishment of a crime, then we would have an entirely different justice system. As it is though, we have different degrees of everything: manslaughter, 1st degree, 2nd degree, and 3rd degree murder. We also use insanity as a defense--showing that if the intent was not there then the crime was not as reprehensible. A society where every crime is punished equally would only work in a society with perfect humans because otherwise every person would be in jail for life! Beides, just being human means that we are not perfect.
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