Honor and revenge : a theory of punishment /
This book addresses the problem of justifying the institution of criminal punishment. It examines the paradox of retribution: the fact that we cannot seem to reject the intuition that punishment is morally required, and yet we cannot (even after two thousand years of philosophical debate) find a mor...
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Main Authors: | |
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Corporate Authors: | |
Published: |
Springer,
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Publisher Address: | Dordrecht ; New York : |
Publication Dates: | 2013. |
Literature type: | eBook |
Language: | English |
Series: |
Law and philosophy library ; v.104. |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4845-3 |
Summary: |
This book addresses the problem of justifying the institution of criminal punishment. It examines the paradox of retribution: the fact that we cannot seem to reject the intuition that punishment is morally required, and yet we cannot (even after two thousand years of philosophical debate) find a morally legitimate basis for inflicting harm on wrongdoers. The book comes at a time when a new abolitionist movement has arisen, a movement that argues that we should give up the search for justification and accept that punishment is morally unjustifiable and should be discontinued immediately. This book, however, proposes a new approach to the retributive theory of punishment, arguing that it should be understood in its traditional formulation that has been long forgotten or dismissed: that punishment is essentially a defense of the honor of the victim. Properly understood, this can give us the possibility of a legitimate moral justification for the institution of punishment? |
Carrier Form: | 1 online resource. |
Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
ISBN: |
9789400748453 (electronic bk.) 9400748450 (electronic bk.) 9400748442 9789400748446 |
Index Number: | K5103 |
CLC: | D916.7 |
Contents: |
The Problem of Punishment -- Punishment as Crime Prevention -- Can Retributive Punishment Be Justified? -- The Mixed Theory of Punishment -- Retribution and Revenge -- What Is the Purpose of Retribution? -- Making Sense of Honor -- Is Punishment Justified? |