DEVIANCE
Forms of Deviance
i. Drug Addiction
ii. Alcoholism
iii. Suicide
iv. Family conflicts
v. Discrimination against minorities
vi. Sexual abuse
vii. Child abuse
viii. . Delinquency
ix. Crime
x. Violence
Evil,
in a general sense, is the opposite or absence of good.
Evil in the broad sense has been divided into two categories: natural evil and moral evil.
Natural evils are bad states of affairs which do not result from the intentions or negligence of moral
agents. Hurricanes and toothaches are examples of natural evils. By contrast,
moral evils do result from the intentions or negligence of moral agents. Murder and lying are examples of
moral evils.
Evil is the corruption of free will, which God gave us in order that we might have the choice to believe he
is the arbiter of right and wrong and knows what’s best for us.
Evil became a reality for us when there was
1) a rejection of what God said was truth and worthy of obedience,
2) an act in opposition to God’s command.
God wants us to trust and obey him. He purposely designed us to live fulfilled and meaningful lives by
worshipping him. When we chose to not trust in God, evil becomes a reality.
You need “good” to define “evil” just like darkness cannot be explained solely without mentioning
brightness.
Norms
are formal and informal.
Formal norms, also called mores and laws, refer to the standards of behavior considered the most
important in any society. Examples in the United States include traffic laws, criminal codes, and, in a
college context, student behavior codes addressing such things as cheating and hate speech.
Informal norms, also called folkways and customs, refer to standards of behavior that are considered less
important but still influence how we behave. Table manners are a common example of informal norms, as
are such everyday behaviors as how we interact with a cashier, how we ride in an elevator, kiss your Aunt
Edna or Use your napkin.
Values
help shape a society by suggesting what is good and bad, beautiful and ugly, sought or avoided.
Values are abstract concepts that certain kinds of behaviors are good, right, ethical, moral and
therefore desirable.
Consider the value that the United States places upon youth. Children represent innocence and
purity, while a youthful adult appearance signifies sexuality.
Shaped by this value, individuals spend millions of dollars each year on cosmetic products and
surgeries to look young and beautiful.
The United States also has an individualistic culture, meaning people place a high value on
individuality and independence. In contrast, many other cultures are collectivist, meaning the
welfare of the group and group relationships are a primary value.
In the United States, one value is freedom; another is equality. These values can come from a variety
of sub-cultures or social institutions.
A society can have all of the values it wants, but if it doesn’t have a way to enforce those values, then
having values means nothing.
Security
(safety for people from both violent and non-violent threats)
Physical (protection of personnel, human body and data from physical actions/events. It
includes protection from fire, flood, rape, assault, natural disasters, burglary, theft, vandalism
and terrorism)
Social (welfare, food, education, health, shelter, retirement funds, insurance, right to opinion)
Economic (stable income, water, food, energy, living conditions, education, health) According
to Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to security of persons is a
fundamental human right, together with a right to life and libert
