Alonzo Fyfe

I have published Part XVII of my Ethics Without God series.

This one conerns morality and the law. (Hence, the title of this thread. Go figure.)

Specifically:

(1) Mens rea; how the concept of a 'guilty mind' can best be understood as a mind having bad desires or the absence of good desires, and how this is reflected in the various types of excuses that can be used to avoid blameworthiness -- accident, mistake of fact, greater cause, consent, and diminished capacity.

(2) What is a good law? (Answer: A law that a person with good desires would support.)

(3) Is there an obligation to obey the law? (Answer: No, there is only an obligation to obey good law.)

(4) Is it true that we ought not to legislate morality? (Answer: No. Indeed, morality is the only thing that ought to be legislated -- at least as far as the criminal law is concerned.)

(5) Should offense be illegal? (Answer: Yes, for a sufficiently strong offense.)

(6) Should offensive words or communicative acts be illegal?(Answer: No. Offensive words should be countered by force of reason, not force of arms.)

I remain perpetually eager to obtain any feedback that any may wish to offer on these topics.

meritocrat

Offence is subjective.

How would be possible to outlaw offence? If someone who is tee-total lives near a bar, should the bar be closed down because the tee-totaller is offended by it's presence?

How does on define a 'strong offence' in this regard?

Alonzo Fyfe

Yes, offense is subjective.

Plus, in my posting, I make all sorts of noise about law being a large and unwieldy instrument, and using it to deal with small and narrow concerns is like "using a mop to write calligraphy on the back of a note card" or "using a wrecking ball to create a finely detailed sculpture" or something like that.

And, yet, there are some offenses that are so widespread and so severe that it would be a legitimate concern of the criminal law.

I used, as my example, an offensive smell -- specifically, piling something in one's back yard that has the aroma of rotting carcasses but without the risk of disease. This is an example of an offense which is strong enough and widespread enough that the criminal law may legitimately get involved.

The details are in my posting, linked to above.