Curious Questions

After going through the law syllabus, I’ve got a few comments on the stuff that I’m about to learn. In comparison with my previous arts subjects, I would say Law requires the skill from both History and English Literature. From history, it requires the tenacity of memorization and application of dates, names and events. There is a need in drawing out certain conclusions from the labyrinth of information that is available. Just like in History, mere memorization won’t get one very far as there is a strong need for understanding too. From English Literature, the value of words and the weight attached to each word must be analyzed thoroughly and not be taken for granted. Spontaneous quick thinking and sharpness for details are elements present in both studies. Law may not be as flamboyant as Literature in allowing any sort of extreme imaginative claims but I like to see it as a topic of subjectivity rather than black and white objectivity.

I heard this repeated a couple of times that the Law is used to regulate society’s behaviour and to protect the individual being in the country. Sounds simple enough but it’s kinda scary thinking deeper about “regulate society’s behaviour” and how that may be abused with the use of enforcement. Of course there’s an implied assumption in it that men are savages without the chains of regulations. In criminal law, there’s stuff like Actus Reus and Mens Rea – the act and the intention. Lol, that is pretty similar to the Kantian ethics ramblings that I learn before.

I’m very curious to see if the Law has an answer for stuff like abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research and these stuff go beyond legal or moral matters. Why is it that I may be a criminal doing Act A in Country Z but not in Country Y? Is morality a guideline in creating Laws or does power provide the final authority? How can something be morally wrong but legally right? How can the Law be applied or does it even exist if society descends into the chaotic tapestry of war? Should we obey the law if we live in a world such as the one in George Orwell’s 1984?