Claim: Many problems of modern society cannot be solved by laws and the legal system.
Reason: Laws cannot change what is in people's hearts or minds.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly ,while bad people will find a way around the laws’, Plato…The prompt recommends that we do not depend on the legal system to solve the problems of modern society as these laws cannot change what is in people’s hearts and minds. In my opinion, I strongly disagree with the statement, as in societies and nations we care about the conduct and performance of individuals and groups rather than hearts, minds and emotions.
As a matter of fact, beginning with the Greeks the formal legal system was created and implemented to control the performance of societies. Communities need a set of laws by which to abide in order to perform in their society…and have done so for the last few centuries. Men cannot roam the streets with no rules and regulations to dictate their performance in society, as an individual, as a group and as a contributing member of a community. The laws that were created by the Greeks were further enhanced by the Romans , and as such they created the basis for their greatest political endeavour. They were pioneers in creating a democratic state that set the stage for later political applications. Within this complex system, they were able to control a vast empire and as such have a specific code of conduct for their empire. It is true that in our modern soceity we have reservations against the Roman empire, but we have to admire their innovation in creating the laws and the legal system and in applying it and finally in seeing such a system through.
Furthermore, in our modern societies, when we educate our children, we make it a point not to indulge these children and to provide a strict guideline of rules and regulations. It is imperative that children know their limits and grow in an environment where they know their rights as well as their responsibilities. Living in complete chaos is not a healthy environment for our younger generation and this has been proven by most psychologist. What applies to our generation, applies to adults in different contexts. People need to know what is right and what is wrong, and they need to know that when we act irresponsibly we are to be punished and that punishment will depend on the level of the act. This is why we need the laws and we need the nations to implement them in a just way. For instance, people have the tendency to litter or to drive fast,in the latter it is the thrill and the excitement, while the former, it the human nature of negligence. Nations work on educating societies; however, without fines these education tracks will Not be effective. Human beings need to know that for every action there is a reaction, and if I throw a napkin from my car window, I might get a fine for 1000$, then the probability of throwing the napkin will be 0. Depending solely on the heart ,mind and the human responsibility of the individual might work in some cases but not in criminal acts, speed limits and other serious matters. Indeed many problems in our societies will not be solved by laws; however, these laws were implemented to save us from numerous others.
Moreover, the factor that laws cannot change what is in people’s hearts and minds might be true. Yet the government is not interested in changing the inner nature of an individual rather it is interested in changing the performance and hopefully in the future that individual might change his perception of that issue.
Finally, I truly believe that nations and societies need the laws and regulations by which to operate or else we will be living in a forest. From the dawn of time, men have tried to create laws by which to abide to and regulate their performance and they have developed these laws through time. It is not now that we come and question such a concept because we think that it does not solve all of our probblems . Indeed, laws might not solve all our problems but they do save us from many others!
‘Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly ,while bad people will find a way around the laws’, Plato…The prompt recommends that we do not depend on the legal system to solve the problems of modern soceity as these laws cannot change what is in people’s hearts and minds. In my opinion, I strongly disagree with the statement, as in soceities and nations we care about the conduct and performance of individuals and groups rather than hearts, minds and emotions.
As a matter of fact, beginning with the Greeks the formal legal system was created and implemented in order to control the performance of soceities. Communities need a set of laws by which to abide in order to perform in their soceity…and have done so for the last few centuries. Men cannot roam the streets with no rules and regulations to dictate their performance in soceity, as an individual, as a group and as a contributing member of a community. The laws that were created by the Greeks were further enhanced by the Romans , and as such they created the basis for their greatest political endeavour. They were pioneers in creating a democratic state that set the stage for later political applications. Within this complex system, they were able to control a vast empire and as such have a specific code of conduct for their empire. It is true that in our modern soceity we have reservations against the Roman empire, but we have to admire their innovation in creating the laws and the legal system and in applying it and finally in seeing such a system through.
Furthermore, in our modern soceities, when we educate our children, we make it a point not to indulge these children and to provide a strict guideline of rules and regulations. It is imperative that children know their limits and grow in an environment where they know their rights as well as their responsibilities. Living in complete chaos is not a healthy environment for our younger generation and this has been proven by most psychologist. What applies to our generation, applies to adults in different contexts. People need to know what is right and what is wrong, and they need to know that when we act irresponsibly we are to be punished and that punishment will depend on the level of the act. This is why we need the laws and we need the nations to implement them in a just manner. For instance, people have the tendency to litter or to drive fast,in the latter it is the thrill and the excitement, while the former, it the human nature of negligence. Nations work on educating soceities; however, without fines these education tracks will Not be effective. Human beings need to know that for every action there is a reaction, and if I throw a napkin from my car window, I might get a fine for 1000$, then the probablity of throwing the napkin will be 0. Depending solely on the heart ,mind and the human responsibilty of the individual might work in some cases but not in criminal acts, speed limits and other serious matters. Indeed many problems in our soceities will not be solved by laws; however, these laws were implemented to save us from numerous others.
Moreover, the factor that laws cannot change what is in people’s hearts and minds might be true. Yet the government is not interested in changing the inner nature of an individual rather it is interested in changing the performance and hopefully in the future that individual might change his perception of that issue.
Finally, I truly believe that nations and soceities need the laws and regulations by which to operate or else we will be living in a forest. From the dawn of time, men have tried to create laws by which to abide to and regulate their performance and they have developed these laws through time. It is not now that we come and question such a concept because we think that it does not solev all of our probblems . Indeed, laws might not solve all our problems but they do save us from many others!