Law and Criminality

What is law?

The idea of law has been with us since the very earliest civilisations. It is possible to describe law as the body of rules and regulations that is used to govern a society and to control the behaviour of its members, so Law is a formal mechanism of social control. Legal systems are particular ways of establishing and maintaining social order. It is important to bear in mind that law is a uniquely human phenomena. You don't find ducks or dogs having legal systems. 

Therefore, I think that human cognition is an important part of law. Knowing and understanding these rules and the need for having them is an important aspect of law.

…nuclear warfare is not necessary to cause a breakdown of our society. You take a large city like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago–their water supply comes from hundreds of miles away and any interruption of that, or food, or power for any period of time you’re going to have riots in the streets. Our society is so fragile, so dependent on the interworking of things to provide us with goods and services, that you don’t need nuclear warfare to fragment us anymore than the Romans needed it to cause their eventual downfall."
– Gene Roddenberry

Why do we need law?

There are many views on this subject but personally I think laws are guidelines that set out appropriate behaviour that has been developed over time, and are based on moral beliefs and the human condition that sets out the purposes for which society in general exists. Without the fulfillment of these desired tasks, man simply will become equal to animals – or worse still, allow their darker sides (or impulses) to emerge and control their lives. Thus, law acts as a guardian against the inevitable anarchy that would engulf humanity if law did not exist.

Racial riots in Cronulla, Australia.

On the other hand, we have those who believe that mankind is naturally good, and it is the external forces that surround us that are completely responsible for any wrong doing that takes place – for instance, the government and it's policies. It could be said, for example, that apartheid existed in South Africa previously because of the flawed policies of the "whites" controlled government.

                                

St Augustine’s (a Roman priest) assertion that law was a natural necessity to curb man’s sinful nature was widely accepted for many centuries. He famously said, "what are states without justice but robber bands enlarged!"

These ideas emanated from the early Greek philosophers. Aristotle argued that the primary function of any state was to promote virtue. He believed that man possessed a natural virtue which is capable of development. Laws therefore are necessary to make men good and society productive. St Thomas Aquinas (a Christian scholar) defended these ideas by saying that the state was not necessarily evil but was a natural foundation for the development of human welfare.

Human history, of course, is full of examples of tyrannical rulers and evil laws. Therefore, the above view must be examined and challenged. 


Karl Marx had a very different view of law. He believed that law was essentially a tool used by the ruling classes to keep the workers (the proletariat) under control. He envisaged the overthrow of the capitalist society by a violent revolution of the oppressed proletariat. Law, to him, was nothing but a coercive system devised to maintain a class based society.

In a society of equals there would be no need for law and the law and the state would ‘whither away’ as being no longer needed to support an oppressive regime. 

However, his claim in reality did not happen in any of the so-called marxist countries - like the former USSR, Cuba and China. In fact in these countries, there was and is a more pervasive use of the law as a device of social control.

In my view, it is unlikely that any human society can exist without law. Even if we all have the same amount of money, that does not mean that people will stop killing each other or that families will not breakdown - so that we need laws on divorce. It is fact, that even in the simplest of societies, some form of legal rule and guidance is without doubt needed to control society.

5 quotes - and why I chose them.

#1. St Thomas Aquinas - Law is "Nothing else than an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated."

I like this quote because it represents for me the best of human aspirations. Ultimately law should be about promoting goodness and protecting society from evil. Though the idea of good and evil is in itself controversial.

#2. Thomas Hobbes (English philosopher born 1588) - "Law is the formal glue that holds fundamentally disorganised societies together."

I like this quote because it is pragmatic and is essentially true. It's simplicity is genius. 

#3. Karl Marx (Father of Communism) - "Law is a tool of oppression used by capitalists to control the proletariat."

I like this quote because it really got me thinking. Perhaps there is some truth in what he is saying. If a woman steals a loaf of bread to feed a hungry child, it's stealing. Equally, the same offense is committed by somebody like Bernie Madoff, who stole billions! The punishment for both crimes is imprisonment - the only difference is the length of the sentence. But the woman was trying to feed a hungry child, whereas Madoff destroyed the livelihood and lives of thousands of people!

#4. Glanville Williams (British lawyer and author of the book Learning the Law) - "Law is the cement of society and also an essential medium of change." 

This quote is a fairly comprehensive summary of law's function. I think it helps me understand the importance of law to society and the importance of changing the law when necessary.

#5. William Shakespeare (Henry The Sixth, Part 2 Act 4, scene 2) - "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."

This is a very amusing quote oft misquoted. When Shakespeare said “kill all the lawyers,” he was probably using it as a dramatic device to suggest a loss of lawyers would lead to lawlessness and anarchy. Instead, in a development unimaginable to Shakespeare, the proliferation of lawyers and legal excesses have brought a different form of societal destruction: lawyers abusing the system and using legal procedure as a way to frustrate justice. So I think today - the sentiment in some cases would be literally justified.

I would like to share a wonderful poem by JRR Tolkein,

"All That is Gold Does Not Glitter"

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

This eloquent poem is an ode to democracy and the power of people to chart their own destiny.

Feedback And Critique

"Feedback is the breakfast of champions." - Ken Blanchard 

What is feedback?  

Feedback is receiving information about one's performance or understanding in a particular area of study. Feedback is the cheapest way to improve if the feedback is good and constructive. 

It is very difficult to be very self aware without feedback from others. Self awareness and monitoring provide a good platform but feedback from others informs us in ways that enriches our self knowledge. 

Why is it so important? 

We need feedback because most people don't see themselves as others see them. For this reason, they often don't understand their own shortcomings or "blind spots." For example, learners don't always know when their work is appreciated, and they aren’t always sure when they’re on the right track. Even well intentioned and hard-working learners rely on ingrained patterns of behavior in their learning. Because they aren’t always conscious of what comes naturally, they may be the only ones who don't know what they are doing wrong.

How does good feedback help us in our learning?

• Feedback is important to the ongoing development of learners in any setting. Many learning situations involve the integration of knowledge, skills and behavior in complex and often stressful environments with time pressure on both teacher and learner.
• Feedback is central to developing any learners' competence and confidence at all stages of their learning. Feedback is a critical element of any learning throughout the teaching and learning process. Learners should value feedback highly, and valid feedback is based on observation by their teachers and their peers, deal with observable behaviour and be practical, timely, and concrete. 
• One of the main purposes of feedback is to encourage reflection. Many learning opportunities are wasted if they are not accompanied by feedback from an observer, so too are they wasted if the learner cannot reflect honestly on his or her performance. Two key skills are (a) ‘unpacking’ your reasoning and decision making processes and (b) describing and discussing the ethical values and beliefs that guide you. 
• Feedback should emphasise ongoing reflective practice that helps learners to develop the capacity to critically evaluate their own and others’ performance, to self-monitor and move towards autonomy.

Good and Bad feedback:

When people do not receive enough information about their performance they will not be able to progress. Good feedback  may help the individual receiving feedback relate to:

• Whether or not they are achieving their goals
• What they are supposed to be achieving in the activity in question i.e. why are we learning this
• What they are currently doing well and what areas require improvement
• How they are impacting on their peers in the class

Back feedback on the other hand is diffused negative comments that are not constructive. Good feedback is given by someone you trust for your benefit, bad feedback is given by someone that does not have your best interests at heart.

Good feedback is essential to learning. If people don't fully appreciate their strengths, how can they use them to their advantage? If they aren't sure of what they are doing wrong

, how will they know what to change, and will they have the motivation to improve? 

People who want to improve want feedback. As valuable and as desirable as it is, the challenge is to provide good and constructive feedback. Negative feedback can have adverse effects and reduce the motivation of the learner. 

The most common reasons for bad feedback are:

• People usually find it uncomfortable to confront each other about performance issues.
• Most people aren’t sure how to give feedback effectively.
• Very few people like accepting negative feedback.

Examples of good feedback are:

• Evaluative - impartial, thought provoking, assessing critique that is intended to help the learner improve. 
• Constructive - encouraging, honest and interested critique. 
• Non judgmental - educational, worthwhile and balanced critique.

On the other hand bad feedback is:

• Judgmental - blinkered, opinionated and agressive critique.
• Negative - spiteful, pointless and non-productive critique.

The following mind map succinctly deals with this.

Impacts of good and bad feedback 

Do you think you have been giving good feedback? Explain why you have or have not.


I usually give good feedback, most of which is direct to the person concerned. I have not shared most of my feedback on the respective blogs because I have faced considerable time constraints this year. I prefer to give feedback on a personal basis because I think it is more encouraging and beneficial to the person concerned. Nobody likes being criticized publicly.


I put the following comment on Nicole's blog - "It's Raining Words":

I said this because I really liked her presentation and wanted her to know that her work was beneficial to us and that I appreciated her for her efforts. I think this would have benefitted her by motivating her to perform even better in the future. I think that it is important to give positive feedback when it is deserved.

Positive Feedback on Prezi

"To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." - Elbert Hubbard 

TIME I TOLD YOU WHY THIS BLOG IS CALLED CROOKED TIMBER!!!!!

I don't like blogging. I don't know why we have to do a stupid blog. As if I didn't have enough homework! We were told to decide what medium to use to present and share our ideas. Mr. Shaun gave several ideas - can't really remember them all - SORRY MR SHAUN! Generally I was quite indifferent as to what to do. So when Ms Suzy's class decided to use a blog as their medium - we were stuck with this project.

So I am asking myself - why? oh why! am I doing this. I'm quite happy with the old fashioned way of doing homework - write it up and pass it up. Anyway, I spoke to my Dad about it. He has several blogs and all his friends seem to like reading his blog. I thought some advice would be useful. He asked me what the blog was about and I told him that it was to express and share my ideas in Global Perspectives. He told me that's really great and that I should just write about my own thoughts about anything and everything that was related to the subject. In particular, that I should have the courage of my convictions and express them. Most importantly, that I should think about both sides of an issue before forming and opinion about anything because there is always more than one way to look at something.


He told me about this wonderful quote by Sir Isaiah Berlin that "out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made". That gave me pause for thought. I realised that that was so true, even in the context of our daily lives. Choices, choices and more choices and all of them so difficult to choose from. To finish my homework, read, or read, or read some more, play games on my iphone, watch Phineas and Ferb, chat with my friends ............. so many things to do, so little time!

I could see the annoyance build on my Dad's face - Jacelyn.... "there are more important decisions that people are confronted with and the choices they have are equally important and equally difficult to choose from - to euthanize someone, to have an abortion, to support capital punishment, to steal or to go hungry, to suffer a tyrant or kill him and the list goes on my dear," he said.


I really don't know? but I know that this much is true - we live in an imperfect world where people always talk about perfect solutions - people like my Mum for instance! So there you go - The Crooked Timber.

Hope you enjoy reading it. It's a work in progress!