Punishment: The True Story

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Recommended: Explain the nature and purpose of punishment

Punishment has been around for ages. From century to century the thoughts of punishment have changed for good and bad, but the focus of punishment has not changed. With two sides to the story one being to reform or rehabilitate and the other to be punitive and ask for a penalty in return for the wrong doing done. It is hard not to see that there is plenty of controversy revolving around the subject, punishment has with stood the test of time and with good reason. Some would say the need for punishment is obvious, but others believe it has been taken too far. I say, the glue that holds society in order is punishment. Without our government’s systematic penal code to enforce the social norms that are set in place, our neighborhoods might not be as safe. The issue with this type of mentality though, is deciding how far is too far, and how to judge properly.

The story of punishment is a sad and troubling one. From birth, philosophically speaking it was doom with a father by the name of Retribution. “On our standard theory of retribution, then, punishment is inflicted in order to make the punisher pay for his offense” (Cottingham pg.1). Also, a mother by the name of Punitive. The word or concept of punishment has root word meanings derived from punitive, “< post-classical Latin punitivus inflicting or involving punishment (13th cent. in British and continental sources) < classical Latin pūnīt-, past participial stem of pūnīrepunish v.+ -īvus-ive suffix. Compare Middle French, French punitif(c1370 in Middle French in sense ‘(of a person) inclined to punish’, late 18th cent. in sense 1), Spanish punitivo(early 16th cent.), Portuguese punitivo(1569), Italian punitivo(a1406)” (OED.com). Cause and effect, every action has a reaction and t...

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...rigo, Bruce. "Punishment, Freedom, and the Culture of Control: A Review of Torture: America’s Brutal Prisons 1." Contemporary Justice Review 9.2 (2006): 229-33. Print.

Johnson, Dominic D.P., and Oliver Kruger. "The Good of Wrath: Supernatural Punishment and the Evolution of Cooperation." Political Theology 5.2 (2004): 159-76. Print.

McCurry, Jeffrey. "The Spiritual Dimension: Religion, Philosophy, and Human Value – By John Cottingham." Modern Theology 24.2 (2008): 320-24. Print.

Online Etymology Dictionary. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

Oxford University Press - OUP - UK Official Home Page of Oxford University Press - Oxford Books. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

"Punishment (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

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