NCJ Number
67483
Date Published
1976
Length
190 pages
Annotation
A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK IS DEVELOPED FOR FORMULATING ETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN CORRECTIONS FOR PROFESSIONALS AND VOLUNTEERS.
Abstract
THE MAJOR THEME OF THE MODULE IS THAT ALL SOCIAL SYSTEMS ARE BOUND TOGETHER BY A SET OF VALUES AND THAT A SYSTEM'S ABILITY TO ACT JUSTLY AND EVEN TO SURVIVE REQUIRES AN ONGOING, RATIONAL EXAMINATION OF THESE VALUES. CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY, WHICH IS DOMINATED BY LARGE AND IMPERSONAL SOCIAL AND CORPORATE STRUCTURES, RARELY ENGAGES IN A RATIONAL EXAMINATION OF ITS BEHAVIOR FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ETHICAL PRINCPLES BASED UPON A SENSITIVE EXAMINATION OF THE VALUE IMPACTS OF POLICY AND OPERATIONS UPON INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY AS A WHOLE. THERE EXISTS, HOWEVER, A WIDESPREAD MOVEMENT IN WHICH SMALL GROUPS ARE FORMING AROUND ETHICAL POSITIONS. IN CORRECTIONS, THIS FREQUENTLY TAKES THE FORM OF A UNION OF VOLUNTEERS AND PROFESSIONALS FORMED TO ADVANCE AND FURTHER DEFINE VALUES BELIEVED TO BE IMPORTANT FOR CORRECTIONAL POLICY AND OPERATIONS. THE MAJOR SOURCES OF ETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN CORRECTIONS ARE NOMOLOGICAL ETHICS (FROM THE GREEK WORD FOR 'LAW') AND AXIOLOGICAL ETHICS (FROM THE GREEK WORD FOR 'WORTH'). THE PRINCIPAL ASSUMPTION OF NOMOLOGICAL ETHICS IS THAT THE LAW IS THE PRIMARY JUDGE OF INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS AND COMMUNITY VALUES. AN AXIOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY IN ETHICS AIMS AT AN ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF PRINCIPLES WHICH WILL CONDITION THE INTERNAL CONTROLS AND THE EVOLUTION OF LAW IN A SOCIETY. THE AXIOLOGICAL ETHICAL APPROACH IS REQUIRED UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE VALUES OF A SYSTEM MUST BE CONSTANTLY FORMULATED AND EXPRESSED IN INTERACTION WITH CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS, FOLLOWED BY LAW REFORM. THE PRECESS BY WHICH ETHICAL VALUES ARE FORMULATED IN A SYSTEM INTERACTING WITH A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT IS CONSIDERED, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO CORRECTIONS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS PROVIDED. (RCB)