Criminal Behaviour

[McCulloch]

Christians have been known to make the claim that most people are kept from committing crimes for fear of being caught. The fear of being caught in the crime is what keeps people from lawlessness.

Questions for debate:

1. Is it the fear of getting caught that keeps you from doing things which you know are morally wrong?
2. Is it the fear of getting caught that keeps most other people from doing things which they know are morally wrong?

[scorpia]

Is it the fear of getting caught that keeps most other people from doing things which they know are morally wrong?

Hopefully not. Considering the incompetance of some law enforcers (not all; there are some brave folk who die out there to keep the law), the fear of not getting caught is not much of a restraint.

[StephTrex1]

Christians have been known to make the claim that most people are kept from committing crimes for fear of being caught. The fear of being caught in the crime is what keeps people from lawlessness.

Questions for debate:

1. Is it the fear of getting caught that keeps you from doing things which you know are morally wrong?
2. Is it the fear of getting caught that keeps most other people from doing things which they know are morally wrong?

For me it is not fear of getting caught. I just prefer to not do anything morally wrong....

There are people in this world who feel the thrill or fear of getting caught is the reason they choose to do things wrong.

[Marishiten]

It's hard to decide, because we're brought up to think certain things are wrong, and hence we grow up BELIEVING they are wrong. So if we believe they are wrong, we could say that we don't do illegal things because they are wrong.

But what if there's a community out there that thought sex with minors WASN'T wrong? And a person from that community moved into one where it was very wrong and illegal. Would they do it, or not?

Also, here in Australia it's very easy to get extra money from the government if you have some sort of disability or impairment, and it isn't illegal. However, some people don't think they should get so much money just because they have to wear glasses and so don't apply for it. On the other hand, some will lie extensively about their 'disability' just to get that much extra money.

I for the most part do what I believe is right. I have never done anything extremely illegal like murder, because I don't think it's right to take ANY life, so I don't kill/hurt animals either. However, there have been a few instances where I have done something considered "not right" (not necessarily illegal) That I thought I could get away with and not really hurt anyone in the process.

[Grumpy]

Is it the fear of getting caught that keeps you from doing things which you know are morally wrong?
Is it the fear of getting caught that keeps most other people from doing things which they know are morally wrong?

Ethics(recognized as being generated from human interactions) is a better word than morals(percieved as being handed down from some non-existent supernatural being) for the collective set of "rules" we use for determining what is right and what is wrong. These rules change as our situation changes. Thus the dreaded "Situational Ethics" that most say with a sneer on their lips.

Someone once said words to the effect that "It is just as illegal(wrong) for the rich to sleep under bridges as it is for the poor."

Religious documents may say that there are absolutes and that the poor should therefore refrain from such sheltered slumber. But the religious tomes were written(or compiled) by the leaders of those religions at that time(the very rich of their times)who wrote and compiled those tomes for the purpose of ruling the people and keeping themselves in the position(PE again) to remain rich, not in search of truth.

When the cold wind blows, and the freezing rain falls, however, you will find both religious and non-religious under the overpass, though you probably will find few of the rich.

Grumpy

[McCulloch]

Grumpy,
I did not mean to explore the very rich and interesting topic of why we view certain activities as being morally or ethically wrong. The topic in this thread is that once we know that this or that is a wrong thing, then why do we refrain from doing it?
Some Christians are on record as having made the claim that the only thing that keeps us from doing that which we know to be wrong it the fear of being caught, in this life or in the afterlife. Then, typically, they build from that unsupported and unfounded foundation an ethical justification for God's eternal torment of sinners.

I could not find any support for your definition that links morals with the supernatural.
ethics - the philosophical study of moral values and rules
morals, morality - motivation based on ideas of right and wrong
From WordNet, a lexical database for the English language
Cognitive Science Laboratory, Princeton University

[achilles12604]

I happen to be in a rather unique setting for this question. I just asked all the inmates in my pod what they think. Since I work in the minimum section, I asked why they have never committed any "bigger" crimes. They have unanimously agreed that it has little or nothing to do with getting caught. Most say that it is just wrong "just because". Some said they did not wish to hurt others.

Well there you have it folks. From the horses mouth.

[McCulloch]

Unless someone else enters this debate, we can safely put to rest the strawman argument, "The fear of being caught in the crime is what keeps people from lawlessness. "

[OccamsRazor]

I don't think that fear of getting caught has anything to do with it. With the fear of being over simplistic, I do not believe that anyone committing a crime believes that they will get caught.