Wouldn't the victim(s) from each incident be biased? Who makes that decision which is "worse"?
2006-12-18 12:12:21 · 7 answers · asked by Diesel Weasel 7 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
That's the same question i asked when trying to answer "who's was worse, Nazis Germany or the Japanese during WW2?". How can the baby swinging on the edge of a Japanese bayonet in Nanking compare to the baby being carried into the de-lousing chamber at Auwswitz? There is no comparison to total barbarity...it's ludicrous to even try.
2006-12-19 11:03:13 · answer #1 · answered by Its not me Its u 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It isn't impossible.
The victims do not get to make the decision. You pick someone who is completely uninvolved with no bias.
You have to set up a very black and white system, a hierarchy of severity for different crimes. Obviously murder will be worse than running a stop sign. Rape is less than murder because you still have your life. Rape+Murder is worse than murder alone, etc. Then you set up guidelines for your criminals. For instance, a serious crime committed by a child or young woman is worse than one committed by a 30-45 year old man. Then you consider the victims. Were they family, friends, spouse/partner, coworkers, strangers? So on and so on.
It is possible, just complicated.
2006-12-18 20:33:53 · answer #2 · answered by lovely 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Crimes are compared all the time. In fact it forms a major basis of our legal system. The punishments for crimes are usually set by prior rulings.
2006-12-18 21:09:07 · answer #3 · answered by Roman Soldier 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
To me all crime is bad,but some crime is just awful.From the beginning of time certain crimes were labeled as "sinful" and
"wrong".Murder being the obvious choice that comes to mind.Society has determined the degrees of severity for most crimes.For example,I was mugged yrs ago,but I would never compare that to being shot or stabbed,that is just common sense.
2006-12-18 20:18:13 · answer #4 · answered by Celebrity girl 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Not really. We have a whole criminal justice system in place doing just that and as dispassionately as possible. Far from perfect, but beats the alternative system; might makes right, I don't like you, and the ever popular, vengeance, which can be a form of victim bias.
2006-12-18 20:45:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
the thing about humans is that as special as we think we all are, ultimatelly we seem to fall into categories. i think yahoo answers provides a similar microcosmos. just think of all the people who have stopped by, yet when you look at their questions/answers they all seem to be someone that you have seen before. just another reincarnation. thus, to get back to your original question, i think there is some degree of truth to comparing crimes, because ultimatelly the motives and means seems to fall into categories we have all seen before. still, we should be cognizant of intangibles. even in YA sometimes an original user comes along :)
2006-12-19 15:58:37 · answer #6 · answered by Circlometry™³ 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth...then sit back and see if the crime rates goes down...I'll bet you the ranch, it does..
2006-12-18 20:35:24 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋