Philosophical approaches and methods

Philosophical Approaches

The question of ethics, what the right thing to do vs. The wrong thing, can be a difficult one. There are occasions where right and wrong are black and white distinctions. The right thing to do is easy discernable, though it may not be the easiest things to do. However, this is the rare occasion. More often than not trying to determine right and wrong in a given situation is difficult. Usually the world is not divided into good and bad, right or wrong, black or white. Sometimes in life a person will be encountered with the opportunity to make a choice. There will be times when the right or wrong thing will not be as obvious as one would like it to be. There will also be occasions thankfully where the wrong or right thing will be obvious. Sometimes an honest action will be unprofitable and thus unpleasant and it can be difficult for the individual to make that correct, or right, choice. However, when faced with something so black and white, it is the responsibility of all thinking, ethical beings to do the right thing. In the field of criminology, police and other law enforcement agencies are expected to always do the ethical thing. Criminals very often do not. There are several philosophical approaches regarding ethical decision-making. One such branch of philosophy is the concepts of internal and external determinism.

Internal determinism is comprised of the processes by which people formulate decisions within the self. This branch breaks down into two subcategories: biological and psychological determinism. The former refers to the processes which control our actions and our choices which are born into us because of our biology. This can relate to inherited traits from the genetic line or from abnormalities in the individual human which can shape how they make choices. Biology can heavily influence the stance one will take in an ethical dilemma. However, biological determinism goes beyond the individual pieces which make up a human being and looks at how a person's biological makeup will shape and mould their later decision making. In a way, it serves as a blueprint, telling the brain what it already knows and informing the body of the choice the mind will make. The second, psychological determinism, explains that the way that people make decisions is part of their psychological makeup. These two factors then jointly contribute to the way people make decisions because of how they are born and what their genetic and biological heritage is. Their future decisions are shaped by their past.

The other form of determinism is external. This is comprised of all of the influences that are outside of the self. Forms of external determination can include social interactions, cultural influences, and the media. The weather, the neighborhoods we live in, and the friends we make will all influence the decisions that are made later on in life. Anything and anyone that a person encounters and interacts with can have a long-lasting influence on that individual. When we encounter something or someone and observe their decision making skills or the events of a situation, we will react. That reaction will be stored inside the mind and will influence how we behave later on.