The Morality of Law by Fuller - Essay Example

In the book, The Morality of Law, Fuller gives directions that make a company or any form of business fail. He gives eight reasons why the companies fail. As a policeman at a friend’s party, I observe a group of people who are friends of my friend snorting cocaine, It is a legal obligation to arrest the people and take them into custody, but this is an old friend and I would not like to spoil our relationship

The moral problem in this scenario is the usage of cocaine. This illegal and highly addictive drug tends to affect the judgment of those who use it. It is wrong to use cocaine. The law does not allow the usage of this drug because of its adverse effects on users. There is a dilemma that comes out as a result of whether to act on conscience or by principles, which in this case are the regulations of the government. According to the government, I am supposed to arrest the people who are using the drug. If I were to react on my conscience, I would explain to them the situation in which they are putting me. I would advise them not to do that again and join a rehabilitation facility. I would warn them that if this happens again, they would leave me no choice but to arrest them. According to Fuller, I would react on the instinct that tells me to defend my position as a police officer, According to his rules stated above there are rules that state I should take them in. If I did not honor that rule, I would be failing the police department. Therefore, the main stand here would be to arrest the friends of my old friend and take them in. It might not be the morally right decision, but according to the rules, it is the right thing to do.

Scenario Two-Accepting a Gift
I am in a situation where a friend has offered me a gift basket with some money. I am a community officer and people may take this as a bribe, I can choose to either refuse the token or take it. There is no rule deterring me from taking a gift from a friend. After all, the friend said it was a token of appreciation for my job. I am supposed to take the gift, because if I do not, my friend might be offended that I do not take it, the only undoing is that he wants to do it secretly. If he made it public, it would be easier. The job does not allow for bribes. If my friend does not want to give me the prize publicly, it means that he is attempting to bribe me. According to the book, one is supposed to put the needs of the workplace before his interests. I should hence decline the gift and explain that it would not be according to the rules of the workplace

Scenario Three- Homosexual Partner
As a supervisor, I am approached by an officer who wants to be assigned to another partner because his current is currently a homosexual. The moral problem is that there is a homosexual in the department. This, however, is not a problem according to the ethics of the job since homosexuality is not illegal in the country. The main decision here would be to make Officer James understand Jones and continue to work with him (Fuller, L. 1964, p 19).
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