A defense of corporal punishment: A humane alternative to incarceration
Item
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Title
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A defense of corporal punishment: A humane alternative to incarceration
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:4cb2bf2ca102:10641
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identifier
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10888
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Creator
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Murtagh, Kevin J.,
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Contributor
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John I. Kleinig
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Date
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2010
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Philosophy | Ethics | Criminology | alternatives to incarceration | corporal punishment | degrading punishment | inhumane punishment | philosophy of punishment | sentencing theory
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Abstract
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If we hold that severe punishment is sometimes justifiable, as almost all philosophers do, then we hold that it is morally permissible for the state to cause criminal offenders to experience substantial suffering. It is generally taken to be permissible to punish in ways that cause quite significant psychological suffering extended over vast amounts of time. Imprisonment, currently the most popular severe punishment, does this. However, in contemporary Western societies, causing suffering by inflicting even a moderate amount of physical pain is generally taken to be morally wrong, perhaps even beyond the pale. In many circles, seriously questioning this latter assumption is taboo, since it is taken as obvious that corporal punishment is an unfortunate relic of a less civilized past. In my view, this assumption is anything but obvious. Punishment inevitably causes suffering, and the psychological suffering caused by currently popular methods of punishment can be, and often is, severe and devastating. Corporal punishment can be imposed in a way that does not break the skin, scar, or cause any permanent physical damage. If these conditions are met, certain forms of corporal punishment can be shown to have significant morally relevant advantages over currently popular forms of punishment, especially imprisonment. Corporal punishment is more humane than imprisonment, since the amount of pain caused can be precisely calibrated, which enables the punisher to avoid causing a disproportionate amount of suffering. With imprisonment, this cannot be done, and the amount of suffering experienced by offenders with formally equivalent sentences often varies immensely. In the dissertation, I discuss this and other advantages of corporal punishment and I defend the practice against objections that claim that it is cruel, inhumane, inhuman, and degrading. Particular attention is paid to the issue of degradation, since most philosophically-developed objections to corporal punishment claim that the practice is degrading.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Philosophy
