In my latest post, i asked the question of how moral would you be without laws guiding you? We are regarded as rational beings but act barbaric sometimes. These barbaric ways of acting is responsible for judicial systems, sanctions and prisons.
New born babies are considered innocent on the basis that they have no capacity to think through their actions before acting. They act based on impulses.
The question we are faced with now is at what point does one ceases to be an innocent child? Does it depend on age or it is based on physique (how grown you look)?
According to society, those who are at least 18 years of age are considered legally responsible. For the society, these people have attained the 'age of reason' and their actions can be judged accordingly. We are free but for you to actually pronounce that or say to your parent that you can now act as you please, it means you are 18 years of age.
In your opinion, do you think these people are truly rational beings? Should there be an age limit to rationality?
This topic is actually premised on the fact that 'age factor' cannot determine rationality. One does not cease to be innocent just because he or she is now 18 years old. You can be 20 years and still be innocent depending on your definition of the world.
Below are cases of kids below the age of 18 who did 'unethical' things at tender age.
1) Two 10-year-old boys lured a 2-year-old boy away from his mom in an England shopping mall in 1993, leading him to nearby train tracks. There, they mutilated the boy so badly, his autopsy couldn't reveal his actual cause of death.
2) In 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer opened fire with a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle on an elementary school playground outside her home, her reason simply being, "I don't like Mondays." The school's principal and janitor died.
The above are cases of kids below the stipulated 18 years by law yet they committed what grown ups with the 'rational' ability might not do. Can we say they are innocent by age but adult by thinking or they are not innocent at all?
Obviously age has nothing to do with moral or immoral behaviors. It is however possible to link the incidents above to the films these kids watched (as the case were for some of the kids) but do these films influence them or they did what they have thought of doing before the films trigger it in them?
I do not think there should be age limit on rationality. The moment a kid is aware of his environment, recognizes his parent, knows that fire is hot, knife is used for cutting things, etc., the moment such kid should start being responsible.
Do you agree with my position or think babies are still innocent? If yes, when do they cease to be innocent? If they commit a crime, can we still say they are innocent? If yes, what do we mean by the word 'innocent'?
