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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank
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To: Neocon who wrote (64864)10/30/2002 11:15:10 AM
From: The Philosopher  Read Replies (1) of 82486
 
I don't agree.

Tot take your example, the discretion to enter into a contract requires understanding of what one is doing, whether it is right or wrong, good or bad for oneself, an understanding of the consequences, and a willingness to accept those consequences.

Seems to me that's exactly what we should expect someone to be able to do before we execute them for the choices they make. If they don't have the intellectual capability to make a rational choice whether to enter into a contract, I don't see how we can claim that they have the intellectual capability to make a rational choice whether to kill somebody.

I think brain development, and our understanding of it, come in here. It's not a matter of chrological age alone. Does the brain actually have the capacity to make decisions on which one's life should hang? I don't know at what age range that happens, but there are brain scientists who have some good idea when.
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