MURAL - Maynooth University Research Archive Library



    Why Punish the Guilty? Towards a Philosophical Analysis of the State's Justification of Punishment


    McDonnell, Cyril (2009) Why Punish the Guilty? Towards a Philosophical Analysis of the State's Justification of Punishment. Maynooth Philosophical Papers, Issue 5 (2008). pp. 21-34.

    [img] Download (343kB)
    Official URL: http://philosophy.nuim.ie/documents/MPP2008Final.p...


    Share your research

    Twitter Facebook LinkedIn GooglePlus Email more...



    Add this article to your Mendeley library


    Abstract

    There is general acceptance that those who break the law must be punished; however, not all agree as to why this is necessary. Some argue punishment is necessary to reform criminals, others to deter criminals, and others because you deserve it, whether punishment reforms or deters. Stripped of metaphors, this paper argues that punishment is retribution, but that a distinction must be made between the definition of punishment as retribution and its justification, if a case is to be made for its moral justification. Thus the most important question the paper raises relates to the justification of punishment as retribution.

    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Punishemnt, Justification, Morality
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Arts,Celtic Studies and Philosophy > Philosophy
    Item ID: 1550
    Depositing User: Dr Cyril McDonnell
    Date Deposited: 29 Sep 2009 12:17
    Journal or Publication Title: Maynooth Philosophical Papers
    Publisher: Department of Philosophy NUIM
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
      Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

      Repository Staff Only(login required)

      View Item Item control page

      Downloads

      Downloads per month over past year

      Origin of downloads