Section I : Ethics ? Provide an Aristotelian account of blameworthiness and If such an account of blameworthiness were to become the basis of our criminal justice system, how might it affect our system of criminal punishment
Aristotle's view of blameworthiness differs fundamentally from contemporary concepts of blameworthiness as practiced by our criminal justice system today. While much of today's legal system is base on a retributive type of justice, in which people are charged with a specific crime, tried in a courtroom and either found innocent and released or found guilty and punished, Aristotle's views also takes into account the nature of the person in question, whether they are virtuous persons or persons of vice. A little background information on Aristotle is necessary to understand how he arrives at his view of blameworthiness, so we will touch a little bit on his teachings of what composes a good life, how virtues figures into it and then delve into some of the merits and problems of Aristotelian blame.
The Good Virtuous Life
Aristotle felt that in order to live ?a good life' (eudaemonia ? well being, contentment, happiness), one needs to exercise one's rational faculties well and to avoid misfortune. To clarify, Aristotle felt that we have to live in a good, rational, reasoned way and that this was a key component of giving our lives value and happiness. (Nichomachean Ethics book I, 7) He felt that this excellence focused, rational quality is unique to man in a sense that there is no animal that approaches mans ability to think and reason things out, it is one of our defining characters. But just living a good rational way is in itself not enough. As brought out in our classroom lecture, one can be a rational, ski ...