|
|
Article: Moral authority in law and criminal justice: some reflections on Wilson's 'The Moral Sense.' (James Q. Wilson's 'The Moral Sense')
- Article from:
- Criminal Justice Ethics
- Article date:
- June 22, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
In his book The Moral Sense James Q. Wilson demonstrates the scope of people's moral concerns. His comments are striking for their range and for his compelling arguments about the centrality of moral concerns to people's lives. Wilson makes it clear that an important basis for people's evaluations of the authorities within organized groups is their assessment of the moral character of the authorities. His conclusion flows, in part, from an examination of research on legal authorities,[1] although the scope of his overall examination is much broader.
Our goal in this comment is to explore some of the implications of Wilson's thesis in the area of law and criminal ...