Determinism In The Criminal Justice System

Description Throughout the course, we have discussed numerous, interrelated subjects pertaining to meta-ethical issues and normative frameworks. Each one has strong relationship with the criminal justice system. One of the first subtopics we learned was that of choices, values, and ethics. The everyday choices we make have consequences for ourselves and others. Most people think of the intended consequences of their decisions before they act, but few people really take the time to consider all the other outcomes of their actions, and especially how they will affect other people. Contrary to popular belief, our choices are not just personal preferences, but instead, they affect much more than ourselves. They are more often than not …show more content…
It is difficult to say for certain if humans have the ability to act with complete free will. Determinism states that every event has a cause. If one chooses to always wear their seatbelt because they were once in a terrible car accident, the idea of determinism works. But say that you take the same route to work or school every single day, and one day you decide to take a different path just because you feel like it. That does not constitute determinism as it is free will. Free will, which says that we are in complete control of our choices and actions, is not perfect, either. If a mentally ill person commits a crime as a result of that mental illness, his crime is no less a crime because of his illness, but they are less culpable in my eyes because they may not have chosen that action or behavior. I don’t believe that either determinism or free will is perfect, but instead a mix of both. We make choices, which may or may not be influenced by other factors, such as values, genetics, or …show more content…
To explain this concept, we can turn to the prisoner’s dilemma, where two people are arrested for committing a crime together and offered a deal for testifying against their partner in crime. The issue comes into play when each suspect is deciding whether or not to accept the deal. Say one of the suspects accepts the deal and the other does not. Then, the suspect who rejects the deal is not motivated by self-interest, as psychological egoism argues humans always are. Or is he? Perhaps he believes that, even though he may get the short end of the stick when it comes to sentencing, he expects that the favor will be returned in the future, as described by reciprocal