CMRJ308 Mid Term 1

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American Military University *

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308

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Philosophy

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Apr 30, 2024

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docx

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3

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Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who was born in Konigsberg, the capital of East Prussia in 1724. Konigsberg was later renamed Kaliningrad and became part of Russia, however, during Kant’s life the main language of the region was German. Gale Biographies (2020) stated that Kant was the fourth of nine children in a family that lived by modest means. Kant’s father was a harness maker, although, throughout Kant’s childhood, his father’s profession was on the decline. Kant’s family was religious and Kant attended an evangelical Lutheran school in his youth. The evangelical Lutheran movement focused on the importance of religious emotions, divine grace, and personal devotion to prayer. Kant did not accept the forced introspection, which led him to his later emphasis on reason and autonomy. When Kant entered the University of Konigsberg, he discovered his passions for philosophy, natural sciences, and mathematics (Gale Biographies, 2020). Kant became especially interested in the works of the philosopher Christian Wolff, who had focused on rationalism, and later David Hume, an 18th-century philosopher who wrote in English. Kant’s father died when Kant was in his early twenties, which led him to become a private tutor as a source of income. During this time, Kant published a number of papers dealing with scientific questions (Gale Biographies, 2020). The most well-known works of Kant are his three critical works, which emphasize his influence on modern philosophy. Within the critical works, specifically the Critique of Practical Reason which Kant published in 1788, you will find the basis of deontology, or the idea of what is right. After publishing his three critiques, Kant continued to work and write until he became completely blind, and eventually died in 1804. When it comes to deontology specifically, deontology states that whether an action is good or bad is determined by the intrinsic nature of the action (Conway & Gawronski, 2013). One example of this would be if an individual was faced with a choice to cause harm to
somebody, but the result of which would be of great benefit to many, such as injuring a drug dealer during an interrogation to obtain information about the supplier that would save many lives from a drug that has been causing numerous overdose deaths. While the individual may see that the greater good of helping many outweighs the injury caused to the individual, deontology would state that the intrinsic nature of causing harm to another would make that action wrong. Another facet of deontology is that it holds the belief that there are some acts that people should do and some acts that people should never do (Biagetti, Gedutis, & Ma, 2020). This is most easily identified by familiar things such as the commandments set forth in the Old Testament of the bible inexplicably commanding that people never do certain things. When looking at how deontology applies to modern policing, there are many ways that it can influence the actions of law enforcement officers. Looking at the facet of deontology that holds there are certain things people should do and certain things people should never do policy and procedures in law enforcement closely resemble that thought. Even when following policy and procedures, the action itself may be looked at by the officer as not appropriate. One thing that comes to mind is separating a parent from a child. While there are some situations where it is appropriate for the safety and welfare of the child, the thought of separating a parent from a child is one that could be seen as wrong. While all law enforcement actions should be ethical, there can be some challenges. Law enforcement faces complex challenges on a regular basis. The need for flexibility and adaptability is key to law enforcement officers being able to effectively live up to the expectations of the community and the superiors in the agency. Another challenge that law enforcement officers face is the stressful, high-pressure environment in which they operate. The demands of the job and expectations of superiors may lead to officers feeling the pressure and
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