Ethics: Theory and Practice

Jacques P. Thiroux Keith W. Krasemann

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Chapter Seven
Reward and Punishment

Chapter Twelve
Lying, Cheating, Breaking Promises, and Stealing

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Definition of Key Terms

Retributive Justice: People should get what they deserve either in reward or punishment, regardless of the consequences Distributive Justice: The distribution of good and bad on a just and fair basis Reward: Something given or received for worthy behavior

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Definition of Key Terms

Punishment: The act of penalizing someone for a crime, fault, or misbehavior a penalty for wrongdoing Retributivism (deserts theory): The act of giving people what they deserve, regardless of the consequences

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Definition of Key Terms

Utilitarianism (results theory): The act of rewarding or punishing based upon the results of the act and whether or not it brings about the greatest good consequences for the greatest number of people Restitution (compensation theory): The act of compensating victims for harm or wrong done to them
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Reward
Four basic ways in which good and bad can be distributed:
As equally among people as possible According to peoples abilities According to what they deserve or merit According to their needs

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Theories of How to Reward

Retributivist, or deserts, theory states that people should be rewarded strictly on a basis of what they deserve or merit for what they have done in the past Utilitarian, or results, theory would reward on the future good consequences of rewarding

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John Rawls and His Theory of Justice

Natural Rights v. Rights of a Just Society
Rawls believes such rights are given to humans by a just society, developed behind a veil of ignorance

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John Rawls and His Theory of Justice

Rawls two basic principles
Equality principle: Each person has equal rights to maximum liberty compatible with the same amount of liberty for everyone else Difference principle: Inequality is permissible if its to everyones advantage

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Punishment
Four Requirements:
It must involve unpleasantness of some sort It must be imposed or endured for some reason It must be imposed by some person or group that has duly constituted moral or legal authority It must be imposed according to certain rules or laws

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Theories of Punishment
Retributive (deserts) theory states that punishment should be given only when it is deserved and only to the extent that it is deserved; it is concerned with the past rather than the future

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Theories of Punishment
Utilitarian (results) theory is future oriented and given in order that. . . rather than because of . . . as in retributivism Consequences:
Imprisonment is not conducive to rehabilitation and reform Psychiatric or psychological treatment, rather than punishment, also is ineffectual

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Theories of Punishment
Restitution, or compensation for victims, theory holds that justice is served only if victims are granted restitution for the crimes committed against them

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Synthesis
No one who is innocent should be convicted or punished despite any good consequences coming from the punishment People must truly deserve any punishment they get, and it should fit the crime but not be excessive More serious crimes would require more serve punishment
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Human Rights
The promotion of human rights is a widely accepted project The concept of a right is powerful because it allows the bearer to make claims on others The importance of the contributions of human rights to civilization cannot be underestimated

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Lying, Cheating, and Stealing

Lying is an intentionally deceptive message in the form of a statement or piece of information deliberately presented as being true anything meant to deceive or give a wrong impression
White lie Lies of Commission Lies of Omission

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Lying, Cheating, and Stealing

Cheating is deceiving by trickery, swindling, misleading, and acting dishonestly or practicing fraud

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Lying, Cheating, and Stealing

A promise is a declaration or vow that one will or will not do something, and to break a promise is to fail to conform to or to act contrary to or violate the promise Stealing is taking something without right or permission, generally in a surreptitious way

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