Justification of Punishment!

2840 Words6 Pages

Justification of Punishment

ABSTRACT: Both utilitarians and the deontologists are of the opinion that punishment is justifiable, but according to the utilitarian moral thinkers, punishment can be justified solely by its consequences, while the deontologists believe that punishment is justifiable purely on retributive ground. D. D. Raphael is found to reconcile both views. According to him, a punishment is justified when it is both useful and deserved. Maclagan, on the other hand, denies it to be justifiable in the sense that it is not right to punish an offender. I claim that punishment is not justifiable but not in the sense in which it is claimed by Maclagan. The aim of this paper is to prove the absurdity of the enquiry as to whether punishment can be justified. Difference results from differing interpretations of the term 'justification.' In its traditional meaning, justification can hardly be distinguished from evaluation. In this sense, to justify an act is to say that it is good or right. I differ from the traditional use and insist that no act or conduct can be justified. Infliction of punishment is a human conduct and as such it is absurd to ask for its justification. I hold the view that to justify is to give reason, and it is only a statement or an assertion behind which we can put forth reason. Infliction of pain is an act behind which the agent may have purpose or intention but not reason. So, it is not punishment, but rather statements concerning punishment that we can justify.

Regarding the justification of punishment philosophers are not of the same opinion. According to the utilitarian moral thinkers punishment can be justified solely by its consequences. That is to say, according to the utilitarian account of punishment 'A ought to be punished' means that A has done an act harmful to people and it needs to be prevented by punishment or the threat of it. So, it will be useful to punish A. Deontologists like Mabbott, Ewing and Hawkins, on the other hand, believe that punishment is justifiable purely on retributive grounds. That is to say, according to them, only the past fact that a man has committed a crime is sufficient enough to justify the punishment inflicted on him. But D.D. Raphael is found to reconcile between the two opposite views. According to him, a punishment is justified when it is both useful and deserved.

Show More
Related

  • The Removal of the Cherokee

    5744 Words  | 12 Pages

    The tragedy of the Cherokee nation has haunted the legacy of Andrew Jackson"'"s Presidency. The events that transpired after the implementation of his Indian policy are indeed heinous and continually pose questions of morality for all generations. Ancient Native American tribes were forced from their ancestral homes in an effort to increase the aggressive expansion of white settlers during the early years of the United States. The most notable removal came after the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Cherokee, whose journey was known as the '"'Trail of Tears'"', and the four other civilized tribes, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole, were forced to emigrate to lands west of the Mississippi River, to what is now day Oklahoma, against their will. During the journey westward, over 60,000 Indians were forced from their homelands. Approximately 4000 Cherokee Indians perished during the journey due to famine, disease, and negligence. The Cherokees to traveled a vast distance under force during the arduous winter of 1838-1839.# This is one of the saddest events in American history, yet we must not forget this tragedy.

    Read More

  • The Effect of Removal Policy on the Native Americans

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Cherokee Trail of Tears resulted from the execution of the Treaty of New Echota (1835), an “agreement” signed under the Indian Removal Act of 1830 (The Cherokee and the Trail of Tears). With the expansion of the American population, the discovery of gold in Georgia, and the need for even more land for American results in the push to move the Natives who were “in the way”. So with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, Congress acted to remove Natives on the east coast of the United States to land west of the Mississippi River, something in which was never embraced or approved by them (The Cherokee and the Trail of Tears). Many state governments, such as Georgia, did not want Native-owned land within their boundaries, while the Natives did not want to move. However, under the Removal Act, the United States Congress gave then-President Andrew Jackson the authority to negotiate removal treaties.

    Read More

  • The Indian Removal Act of 1830: Corrupt from the Outset

    1578 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the vast collection of Indian tribes that the United States would encounter in its gradual expansion, the Cherokee would be considered to be one of the most “civilized” in that they mostly adopted western culture and practices that white settlers had introduced to them. “Many Indians sent their children to schools operated by white missionaries, and some had embraced the Christian religion. Cherokees had devised their own written language and published a newspaper in English and Cherokee.” (Watson 106). All this change was encouraged by white settlers who hoped that the rapid development would allow for the gradual opening up of Indian lands for purchase. When the Cherokee continued to hold fast and refused to sell their ancestral land, the state of Georgia exercised its supposed sovereignty over the region and took away Cherokee land. This move was solely motivated by the greed for the rich black soil that the tribe lived on. The Cherokee’s relative development and familiarity with American society led them to take one of the most American approaches to check American encroachment: they sued. De...

    Read More

  • The Re-birth, Revolt, and Removal of the Cherokee

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ey were no longer the baby to take candy from. This was a good strategy by the Cherokee, to attempt and fit in, they just advanced to fast. The threatening feeling that came from their rapid advancement, coupled with the fact that their was so much pressure on politicians to make the voters happy, created a sense of urgency to get the Indians out of the way and make room for more of their own people. The Cherokee had managed to reproduce the image of an American within them, but with a difference; they weren't American but were trying to be, which consequently alienated Americans. This caused resentment and hatred for the Indians. This hatred turned violent and resulted in one of the most tragic events in United States history, "The Trail of Tears."

    Read More

  • A Defense Of Retributivism Essay

    1823 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper considers the desert arguments raised to support retributivism, or retribution. Retributivism is "the application of the Principle of Desert to the special case of criminal punishment." Russ Shafer-Landau and James Rachels offer very different perspectives on moral desert which ground their differing views on the appropriate response to wrongdoing. In "The Failure of Retributivism," Shafer-Landau contends that retributivism fails to function as a comprehensive theoretical foundation for the legal use of punishment. In contrast, in his article "Punishment and Desert," Rachels uses the four principles of guilt, equal treatment, proportionality and excuses to illustrate the superiority of retribution as the basis for the justice system over two alternatives: deterrence and rehabilitation. Their philosophical treatment of the term leads to divergence on the justification of legal punishment. Ultimately, Rachels offers a more compelling view of desert than Shafer-Landau and, subsequently, better justifies his endorsement of a retributive justice system.

    Read More

  • Reasons In Igor Primoratz's Justifying Legal Punishment?

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    Igor Primoratz defends the retributivist idea that a punishment is justified only if it gives a criminal his just deserts. But what do criminals deserve? Primoratz argues for the following principle: criminals deserve to be deprived of the same value that they deprived their victims of. Primoratz regards all human beings as possessed of lives of equal moral worth, and believes that the human life is the most valuable thing. He thinks that murders deserve to die. Since justice is a matter of giving people what they deserve, it follows that justice demands for murderers to be executed.

    Read More

  • Vitamin D And The Bone Disease

    2317 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since ancient times vitamin D has been the predominant cause of bone deficiencies.1 However, it was not in till the seventeenth century when both Dr. Daniel Whistler and Professor Francis Glisson made the first scientific description of a vitamin D deficiency.2 During the mid-seventeenth century there was an increase amount of children that were diagnosed with the bone disease called rickets.2 The cause of the rickets was determined to be associated to the lack of sunlight. A German researcher Kurt Huldschinsky came to the conclusion that when infants were exposed to ultraviolet light rays they became cured of rickets2. He stated that a substance in the skin was the potential source of the cure.2 In 1922, American scientist Elmer McCollum proved that when cod liver oil was heated; the beneficial effects of vitamin A in the oil were reduced.2 However, the oil remained effective in curing rickets leading McCollum to reason that a nutrient different from vitamin A was present in the oil. As a result, he named this nutrient vitamin D, which became the fourth vitamin to be discovered and named.2 Additionally, shortly after 1918, vitamin D was also discovered by an accidental experiment that included a group of scientists curing dogs affected with rickets by feeding cod liver oil to them.1

    Read More

  • All About Vitamin D

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the United States Endocrine society recommends a daily intake of 600 IU/day for adults <50, and 600 IU to 800IU for adults >50, with an upper limit of 4000IU/day. [69] Holicks et al(2011). The National Osteoporosis Foundation (2013) further recommends a daily intake of 400 IU to 800 IU in adults <50 and 800 IU to 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day for adults>50 (due to the increased prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in adults >50). In adults with a BMI>30, the Endocrine society (Holicks et al, 2011) also recommends a maintainence dose of 10,000 iu/day due to storage and sequestering of vitamin D by increased adipose tissue in obese individuals.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Westward Expansion on The Cherokee Nation

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    Natives were forcefully removed from their land in the 1800’s by America. In the 1820’s and 30’s Georgia issued a campaign to remove the Cherokees from their land. The Cherokee Indians were one of the largest tribes in America at the time. Originally the Cherokee’s were settled near the great lakes, but overtime they moved to the eastern portion of North America. After being threatened by American expansion, Cherokee leaders re-organized their government and adopted a constitution written by a convention, led by Chief John Ross (Cherokee Removal). In 1828 gold was discovered in their land. This made the Cherokee’s land even more desirable. During the spring and winter of 1838- 1839, 20,000 Cherokees were removed and began their journey to Oklahoma. Even if natives wished to assimilate into America, by law they were neither citizens nor could they hold property in the state they were in. Principal Chief, John Ross and Major Ridge were leaders of the Cherokee Nation. The Eastern band of Cherokee Indians lost many due to smallpox. It was a year later that a Treaty was signed for cession of Cherokee land in Texas. A small number of Cherokee Indians assimilated into Florida, in o...

    Read More

  • Riggs V Palmer Case Study

    1528 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is no surprise as to why the case Riggs v Palmer is such a renowned case, for this case tests the importance of many of the philosophers’ theories, especially on the validity of certain laws and the conflict between law and morality. This hard case has been used as a reference for many court decisions over the years and will be most likely used in the future as well. An inference can be made based on this case and the legal conflicts and issues that the judges faced when reaching their verdict. Those who commit the crime should not be rewarded by attaining what motivated them in the first place as the fruit of their crime, and in the event that such a crime occurs, judges must interpret the law in the same manner that the law makers intended

    Read More

  • Is Capital Punishment Ethical?

    2399 Words  | 5 Pages

    Capital punishment is a difficult subject for a lot of people because many question whether or not it is ethical to kill a convicted criminal. In order to critically analyze whether or not it is ethical, I will look at the issue using a utilitarianism approach because in order to get a good grasp of this topic we need to look at how the decision will impact us in the future. The utilitarianism approach will help us to examine this issue and see what some of the consequences are with this topic of capital punishment. For years, capital punishment has been used against criminals and continues to be used today, but lately this type of punishment has come into question because of the ethical question.

    Read More

  • Vitamin D Has Many Functions in the Human Body

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vitamin D deficiency has been recognized as a highly prevalent condition worldwide and presented in approximately 30% to 50% of the general population [7]. High r...

    Read More

  • Everything You Need to Know about Vitamins

    2022 Words  | 5 Pages

    The body can manufacture only vitamin D; all others must be derived from the diet. Lack of them causes a wide range of metabolic and other dysfunctions. In the U.S., since 1940, the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council has published recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

    Read More

  • Vitamin D Essay

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin” because it can be made naturally by the human body when exposed to the sun, is a fat-soluble nutrient that absorbs calcium and works with it to improve overall health and to build strong, healthy bones. It is important in making sure that the lungs, muscles, heart, and brain work well and that the body is capable of fighting off infections. In addition to maintaining your health, vitamin D also allows for nerves to carry messages between the brain and every other part of the body. All in all, vitamin D is very important for the human body.

    Read More

  • Vitamin D Essay

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vitamin D has been established as an antirachitic for over 80 years and its effects on calcium and bone metabolism have been the main focus for the majority of its research years. Despite the countless medical advances of recent years, there has been a resurgence of vitamin D deficiency around the globe. Largely due to insufficient sunlight exposure, many individuals nowadays are suffering from cardiovascular diseases which could be attributed to hypovitaminosis D. The mechanisms behind these diseases are not entirely understood, however many suggest that Vitamin D regulates bodily functions through its effects on parathyroid hormone production and the renin-angiotensin system. Vitamin D deficiency is thought to cause increased inflammatory, parathyroid effects and endothelial function failure while also increasing vascular rigidity. A close link between vitamin D and cardiovascular diseases has been established by symptoms evidenced in experiments.

    Read More

More about Justification of Punishment!

Open Document