Hampton on the Expressive Power of Punishment

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Heather J. Gert, Associate Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Hampton‘s expressive theory of retributive punishment is intended to provide a telos for retribution, a justifying aim that will both shed light on the retributive impulse and dispel the moral uneasiness critics feel about the intentional infliction of suffering on wrongdoers. The central idea is to show that the retributive impulse goes hand in hand with a commitment to egalitarian moral values. However, a close examination of the theory reveals the opposite. If punishment sends the message that the offender and the victim are equally valuable, it does so only by sending the message that a person‘s value is correlated with his ability to exert coercive force over other human beings.

Additional Information

Publication
Journal of Social Philosophy, v. 35, n.1, Spring 2004, 79-90
Language: English
Date: 2004
Keywords
expressive theory, retributive punishment, retribution, egalitarian moral values

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