Lynda asked:

A recent discussion on the death penalty proffered the argument that such a penalty had no place in
a civilized nation, yet many different opinions were offered as to what constitutes a civilized nation or
society. My own opinion is that "civilized" denotes a process completed, which in my mind is false.
Rather, it should be viewed as a continual process, that we are always striving to be civilized. So I am
interested in knowing what is the definition or the criterion used to determine a "civilized society".

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From the dictionary I see that a society is civilised when it has moved from barbarism to become a
lawful state. Having become a lawful state is a "process completed" but this still allows for change
and progress. Sometimes this may mean going back to the way things were in the past, which may
constitute progress, if it results from seeing how we have gone wrong. For instance, we may be about
to give up intensive farming!

Each civilised state will have different laws because nationalities differ in beliefs, attitudes and
religions. This is also within society, which is one reason why change occurs.

Rachel Browne