Should We Hold People in Certain Professions to a higher Standard of Legal Accountability and Responsibility?

Should We Hold People in Certain Professions to a Higher Standard of Legal Accountability and Responsibility

2004

Doctors , lawyers , and policemen should be held to a higher standard of legal accountability and responsibility . In their professions , they deal with human lives directly . Therefore , the cost (the legal cost , as imposed by the society ) of going wrong should be high

The main disadvantage of this position is that it is discriminatory should not all citizens be treated by law equally ? Yet , the advantage of this position is in its humanistic approach to

patients , clients , and people on the street , i .e . toward anyone who is impacted by the actions of the people in these professions . This humanistic position is consistent with the principles of Mill 's utilitarian theory

Utilitarianism is largely defined by Mill as the principle that actions are right insofar as they promote happiness and generate utility Actions are wrong insofar as they promote unhappiness . For Mill , the greatest happiness occurs when the individual produces happiness for the greatest number of other individuals . Moreover , what is important for utility is not the motive , but the consequence of an action . The ethical value of conduct is determined by the utility of its results

If a patient or a client is hurt , the actions of the doctor or lawyer are wrong apriori in accordance with Mill 's utilitarian principles . Yet the type of utility is different , than , say , a gardener would hurt a client by cutting rose bushes . Doctors and lawyers , as well as policemen impact human lives directly since patients , clients , and unarmed people on the street are a passive force , their lives are vulnerable to knowledge , desires , and moral and ethical codes of people in these `direct ' professions . Therefore , it is essential that stricter legal measures are applied towards those working in those professions

CERTAIN PROFESSIONS AND LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY PAGE 2 PAGE...