Civil Disobedience Are We Morally Obliged to Obey Unjust...

Are we morally obliged to obey even unjust laws? This question raises the discussion of what we call civil disobedience. Elliot Zashin, author of Civil Disobedience and Democracy, defines civil disobedience as, â€Å"a knowing violation of public norm (considered binding by local authorities but which may ultimately be invalidated by the courts) as a form of protest: it is non-revolutionary, public, and nonviolent (i.e. there is no use of physical violence except self-defensively when participants are physically attacked, and no resistance to arrest if made properly and without undue force).† (Zashin, 118) One point that Carl Cohen, associate professor of philosophy at University of Michigan, thinks is essential to the definition is that†¦show more content†¦Carl Cohen offers, â€Å"if respect for the law and obedience to it are basic social goods, under what circumstances can deliberate disobedience of that law be a greater good? The search for such circumstance s—whether or not they are actually found—goes straight to the heart of political philosophy: How sacred is the law of the state?† (Cohen, 3) The social contract theory says that laws were created out of necessity to prevent chaos and therefore it is essential for citizens who benefit from the laws of a society to obey all laws. â€Å"†¦Breaking laws is wrong. It isn’t merely culpable in some technical or legal sense, [though] it is that too; more deeply it is wrong because (excluding for the present the possibility of a cruel and tyrannical government) every citizen has more than a legal obligation to obey the laws. His obligation is a general and moral duty arising out of his role as citizen. And that duty is specially compelling in a democracy, where citizens participate, or have a right to participate, in making the laws of their community. †¦ Every citizen of a lawful government, then, has a most important duty to obey its laws. That i s true whatever the form of government, providing the authorities have been duly constituted and their laws and administration of them are reasonably just. Where each citizen has a proportionate voice in the making and the framing of laws (either directly or through representatives), his acceptance of this role as partialShow MoreRelated Civil Disobedience: Are We Morally Obliged to Obey Unjust Laws? 1913 Words   |  8 PagesAre we morally obliged to obey even unjust laws? This moral question addresses what we commonly know as civil disobedience. In order to properly discuss civil disobedience and whether or not it is moral to disobey laws, we must first characterize civil disobedience. In Peter Singers book, Practical Ethics he begins to characterize civil disobedience as arising from ethical disagreement and raising the question of whether to uphold the law, even if the law protects and sanctions things we holdRead MoreUnjust Laws1747 Words   |  7 PagesAre we morally obl iged to obey even unjust laws? Think about what this means. This means that laws, regardless of how unfair, unjust, or immoral they may be, must be followed with no better reason that they are the law. To the thesis that we are obliged to obey even unjust laws, I will argue that the standard objections to Civil Disobedience, given by Singer, are incorrect To begin, however, I believe it is necessary to define an unjust law. 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Every individual has a choice either agree with the laws that the majority of the population has established or think for yourself, will you be the minority and choose to disobey the unjust laws and do what you thinkRead MoreMoral Responsibility1256 Words   |  6 Pagesbe where it is without the laws that have been placed and the citizens who follow the laws. In order for this to happen the knowledge and acceptance of the laws are needed to establish order. African Americans had been secluded in the past through harsh laws of se gregation. Although many believe disobeying the law is morally wrong and if disobeyed a punishment should follow, Martin Luther King’s profound statement, â€Å"One has the moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws† (King 420) leads to greaterRead MoreThe Necessary Qualities Of A Good Democratic Citizen Essay2147 Words   |  9 Pages The necessary qualities of a good democratic citizen require an individual to recognize an injustice within the law, actively oppose that law, and to do so regardless if that unjust law affects the citizen personally. Rousseau, Emerson, and Douglass all agree that freedom and equality are natural rights endowed to all humans. However the three authors diverge in consensus when envisioning the necessary qualities of a good democratic citizen, such as the position from which each author is theorizingRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesWorksheet 661 APPENDIX I GLOSSARY 673 683 APPENDIX II REFERENCES NAME INDEX 705 709 713 SUBJECT INDEX COMBINED INDEX xvi CONTENTS P R E FA C E What’s New in This Edition? Based on suggestions from reviewers, instructors, and students we have made a number of changes in the eighth edition of Developing Management Skills. †¢ Added new skill assessments in Chapter 1 and a new case in Chapter 3. †¢ Revised parts of the book to reflect suggestions and feedback from instructors and students