Why do we have a criminal justice system? Within your answer make reference to the distinction within moral philosophy between conceptions of “the good” and “the right”.

The Good and the Right in the Moral Philosophy of Criminal Justice System

Morality or Ethics is the science ' of good and evil , of right and wrong . It is also sometimes known as the science of oughtness it involves reflection on the questions of what we ought to do , and what we ought not to do , based on certain fundamental moral principles we hold on to in to live together as a society (Bahm 1994 . If a person were living alone in a jungle , he would hardly face any ethical dilemmas . But

even if just two persons were existing alone in some isolated part of the world , there would arise a need for moral considerations . Many consider the most fundamental ethical precept to be the Biblical saying of Do unto others as you would have others do unto you (Matthew 7 :120 . If you would like the other person share a fruit with you if he finds one , then you have an obligation to share the fruit with the other person if you find one . As such , ethics are the basis of all communal living , they form the underpinning of human society . We can all agree on the need of a strong ethical basis for society , and the concomitant need of an authoritative force to oversee the prevalence of moral behaviour . However , things start becoming complex when we try to set down what sorts of actions can be exactly regarded as constituting good and the right , and what constitute evil and the wrong . For , after all , morality is no science , but a philosophical enquiry into matters that can sometimes get highly abstruse

We normally do not discuss and debate upon ethical considerations in our personal everyday lives because most of us tend to know intuitively what is good and what is bad , what is morally right and wrong , even if we deliberately decide to choose what is wrong sometimes , prompted by varied reasons . Yet , when we consider the society as a whole , the picture gets quite complicated . For instance , we commonly equate the good with the right and associate the wrong with the evil and the bad However , there can be a critical distinction made between the good and the right . Further , in the context of a liberal society run by a capable government , the right needs to be accorded priority over the good (Mouffe 1993 . The logic involved here becomes clear when we understand that the responsibility of the government and its legal system is to formulate and maintain the rules that enable its citizens to make what they wish of their lives , thereby ensuring their essential freedom Conformity to these rules is what is right , whereas the good is what guides citizens in trying to live according to their conceptions of what their lives ought to be . The government should be concerned about what is right , while leaving to the discrimination of individuals , in the interests of liberty and freedom , what is good for themselves (Kekes 1997...