To the Criminal and "natural law"
Foucault criticized the concept of "criminal" ("délinquant", meaning professional outlaw)
Premis of Natural law
We are all programmed "good" in nature. Good recognises good and promulgates itself.
Our first thought naturally when confronted with bad is to react against it as a consequence of nature. This is a natural law. As such, our natural thought when confronted by bad is to think objectively and good. In a given situation, confronted with a first cause, we "know" what the right thing to do is.
However, sometimes we reason subjectively which may also be a good thought or a bad thought, but involves choice. In law subjectivity is used to alleviate the harshness of applying objectivity ie, where someone has stolen a handbag, if the reason for the theft was to feed a baby, then the reason for stealing the handbag will have a basis in good and equity (which works within the rule of law) enables subjectivity to reason good as the judge's discretionary powers. However, where the reason for stealing the handbag is to feed a drug habit, then the activity is bad and falls outside the rule of law, is unlawful, and therefore outlawed.
When we reason subjectively, we modify our original good thought to something else which may also be substantively good. However, we also possess the ability to subjectively reason bad and to then follow through that bad thought with a bad act.
To the criminal who has my handbag, I know you have my blogspot address, so return the handbag and contents minus the money as presumably whether good or bad reason all you required was money.
Premis of Natural law
We are all programmed "good" in nature. Good recognises good and promulgates itself.
Our first thought naturally when confronted with bad is to react against it as a consequence of nature. This is a natural law. As such, our natural thought when confronted by bad is to think objectively and good. In a given situation, confronted with a first cause, we "know" what the right thing to do is.
However, sometimes we reason subjectively which may also be a good thought or a bad thought, but involves choice. In law subjectivity is used to alleviate the harshness of applying objectivity ie, where someone has stolen a handbag, if the reason for the theft was to feed a baby, then the reason for stealing the handbag will have a basis in good and equity (which works within the rule of law) enables subjectivity to reason good as the judge's discretionary powers. However, where the reason for stealing the handbag is to feed a drug habit, then the activity is bad and falls outside the rule of law, is unlawful, and therefore outlawed.
When we reason subjectively, we modify our original good thought to something else which may also be substantively good. However, we also possess the ability to subjectively reason bad and to then follow through that bad thought with a bad act.
To the criminal who has my handbag, I know you have my blogspot address, so return the handbag and contents minus the money as presumably whether good or bad reason all you required was money.
posted by Lesley McDade at 11:17 pm
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