Babylonian Law vs. Modern Law Essay Example

Babylonian Law vs. Modern Law Essay Max Sleeth Mr. Katz – P-6 10/16/12 Babylonian Law Essay (Rewritten) While few written texts exist from the Babylonian Empire of 1800 B. C documenting their history, there are many contracts detailing their laws. Several passages even include laws and customs. A great Babylonian King, Hammurabi, was successful in establishing a rule of exemplary law for his Kingdom. These laws provided women with the position of being free and dignified, protections for the weak and poor from oppression, and the establishment of a criminal code of punishment. Many penalties for crimes were very cruel which current day law in the U. S prohibits. Hammurabi was King of Babylonia from 1792 –18 50 B. C and believed he was chosen by the Gods to lead the people of Babylonia. He created a societal structure ruled by laws enforced by judges at court. Women were provided with freedoms through Hammurabi’s laws, such as â€Å"property that the wife had had before marriage is hers for life, like property or furniture†. Also with marriage â€Å"the husband pays the wife’s debt, she maintains her own property that she brought into the marriage, and she is always a member of her father’s house. In the event of a divorce the wife keeps custody of her children, and receives income from her husband until the children have grown up. † Babylonian law also looked to protect the weak and the poor. † Slaves were allowed to own property and even other slaves. They were allowed to bear children, who were then the property of the master. We will write a custom essay sample on Babylonian Law vs. Modern Law specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Babylonian Law vs. Modern Law specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Babylonian Law vs. Modern Law specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer To detain or hide a runaway slave was punishable by death, and the law stated they had to be returned to their owners. † The uniform system of law designed by Hammurabi allowed the elite, the common man, and the slave to work and live together in a peaceful way protected by fair laws. In today’s society however, slavery is illegal and there are not as defined social classes with different laws. One of the more impressive parts of Hammurabi’s law was his idea of punishment. In the Babylonian code punishments were made with hard evidence. If a man were to steal, he would only be accused if the property was found in his possession†. Punishments for crimes were â€Å"an eye for an eye, a limb for a limb, or a tooth for a tooth†. The death penalty was freely given out for theft and other crimes, such as â€Å"buying illegal goods from a slave, kidnapping, selling illegal goods, and causing a death of a house owner through bad construction. † The dea th penalty was also set in motion for a behavior or activity that put another person in danger of death. Current law is very restrictive in issuing a death sentence and is relatively rare in the U. S. Hammurabi was a great Babylonian King whose rule of law offered protections for the weak and the poor, provided women with the position of being free and dignified, and the establishment of a criminal code of punishment. These laws allowed the society, which consisted of people with different backgrounds, classes, and ethnic groups to live together with fair and just laws. Over the thousands of years the laws have significantly changed in our society. Women have the same rights as men, there are no more slaves and death punishments are rarely used here in the United States.

Human Freedom in Relation to Society

Human Freedom in Relation to Society Introduction The nature of human freedom entails the totality of man’s whole life. Human freedom has to do with the freedom of one’s will, which is the freedom of man to choose and act by following his path through life freely by exercising his ‘freedom’) (Morrison, 1997). But this perspective has not been without much debate and controversy by both philosophers and theologians.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Human Freedom in Relation to Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The purpose of this paper intends to look at the concept of human freedom in relation to the society. In this regard, this paper seeks to investigate how society defines human freedom? What other social categories are affected (directly or indirectly) by human freedom? How society has evolved in regard to human freedom? And what can be done to improve human freedom? Human freedom has largely been defined in terms of the absence of external factors that may limit a person’s free will such as deportations and dictatorships by rulers among other factors. But it is also thought that human freedom does not necessarily rely on external constraints, for instance some philosophers have argued against the concept of ‘free will’, by saying that man is only a victim of ‘his own being’ (Morrison, 1997)). In other words, that the very nature of man, his instincts, for instance, limits his ‘freedom’; that every now and then he has to answer to his nature. But Rousseau refutes the argument that man unreservedly answers to his instincts as he argues that unlike animals, man can override his instincts (Morrison, 1997). For example, one may forgo a meal while playing a video game in spite of being hungry. This is an appendage of a philosophical debate as to whether individual ‘freedom’ really exist pe se. The argument is that one’s choices affect the people in the world in which he lives as much as the behaviors of those around him affect him/her. Thus, no person can claim ‘freedom’ that is free of the society in which they live given that the society defines and influences to an extent man’s freedom and the scope of that freedom. How society defines human freedom The term ‘society’ already implies a group of people, in this case, it refers to people including organizations living under mutual agreement: explicit (such as legal law) or implicit (such as ethical moral law) (Fermi, 2004). Each of these members of society is obliged to live by the components of that mutual agreement.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Society, therefore, is bigger than the individual as it overrides the instinctual response of the individual, who is then expected to practice a certain degree of rese rvation in meeting his/her needs in such a way that one is able to abide by the acceptable standards of the society. So far the United Nations has attempted to create a set of laws that can be used to govern the whole human society although the micro-societies (states, for instance) play the main role in defining the scope of human freedom. The definition of human freedom varies depending on the defining culture and political ideology such as Nazism, Socialism, fascism, Communism and Conservatism (Fermi, 2004). Unfortunately, it is not possible to say which one of these variants of human freedom is the right one (Fermi, 2004) as they all work in their own respective ways to define the concept of freedom. But this is not to say that, in a society, the individual ceases to exist. The individual is still protected under the natural law, which champions the individual’s basic human rights and liberty; this in fact, forms the core of democracy in the world today. Limitless freedom , it is argued, is untenable in a society that is peaceful and orderly, still when it comes to the law, some of the democratic rights are limited. Liberty, in its entirety (civil, natural, personal, and political liberties) when defined under the law carries with it certain limits. That as much as an individual has these rights and liberties, one can only go as far as the law permits, and since the law is defined by the political nature of a specific society, it can be argued that the law while it champions human freedom, equally restricts it as well. The other social categories that may be affected by human freedom Human freedom seems to be the central social issue and the other social aspects are either a reflection or an extension of human freedom. As we have seen so far, human freedom is defined by the prevailing political circumstances which further define the legal framework that is adopted.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Human Freedom in Relation to Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Depending on the relationship between state and religion (for instance, the unification of religion and the state as in Iran and separation of the two as was the case in Ibrahim’s Tunisia) individual’s freedom is affected in one way or another. Hinduism, for instance through its belief in the caste system, would seek to justify poverty for certain people and thereby hinder social mobility. Additionally, societies in which women are seen as nothing more than caretakers of families would hinder their access to formal education which impacts on their freedom. How society has changed in regard to human freedom Like any other social aspect, how human freedom is regarded in any society has evolved. It can largely be argued that struggle for human freedom has changed from an individual’s materialistic wishes to a more global approach to freedom for minority groups. For example, feminism is fighting for women’s rights of choice, formal education, job opportunities, from domestic violence and female genital mutilation among other rights. Currently, there is an increasing recognition and empowerment of disabled people; these, among other activities are a reflection of the global call for democracy which requires the acknowledgement and respect of all humans and their fundamental rights. This is attributed to technological changes, group behavior, social conflict, social trade-offs and global interdependence among others. All these have contributed to the globalization of the world which has increased the call for a certain degree of homogeneity in social behavior as the culture of nations has come to mean transformation of other nations as well in regard to human freedom. Conclusion; how society can improve human freedom There is need for further research on how to improve human freedom; in this regard motivational psychologists can help by diagnosing problems , setting moderate goals and applying the relevant behavioral technology to promote and research the concept of human freedom further. This has worked in certain places for instance, there’s evidence that motivational technology has helped control certain serious diseases, facilitate compensatory education, provide channels for assessing the benefits of higher education, facilitates effective management of complex initiatives and has contributed in raising the living standards of the poor (McClelland, 1978). Besides these, there are also other means of improving human freedom which can be implemented.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Fermi, F. (2004). Freedom and the Human Being. Retrieved from https://www.monografias.com/trabajos26/freedom/freedom.shtml McClelland, D., (1978). Managing Motivation to Expand Human Freedom.  American Psychologist, 33 (3), pp. 201-210. Morrison, J., (1997). What is Human Freedom. Retrieved from jasonmorrison.net/content/1997/what-is-human-freedom/

Dealing with the task of payment of sport in high school Essay

Dealing with the task of payment of sport in high school - Essay Example The reduction of charges, on the current programs, will promote participation of more students in sporting activities. The lower the costs, the more enticing the programs will seem to the students. Relationships and interaction among students, at both school and the community level, will improve because of nondiscriminatory participation in common games (Woods 126). As such, use of communal and school sporting facilities will increase. This will translate to fit and energetic youths and a reduction of the lifestyle diseases. This presents an advantage of reduction of charges (Woods 29). Adversely, a reduction of charges on sports will lead to poor services. Proper and effective maintenance of the sporting facilities may suffer due to the little charged. This will lead to the facilities occurring in run-down conditions. Further, the poor payment to sporting staff and instructors may promote the exodus of this experienced staff to seek well-paying jobs. Districts may raise taxes to bridge the budget deficits arising from reduced charges in a sport. This presents a burden to the taxpayer (Woods 127).In the elimination of some sporting programs, the reflection of the main advantage occurs in the reduction of staff and expensive facilities (Woods 129). The need for large outdoor space, as is the case with sports like football, represents a headache due to limited space. Such games requiring large spaces may give way to games requiring smaller spaces. This further promotes specialization in a sport by the participants.