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All 8 Flashcards — Retributive justice and punishment
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Question
The three aims of punishment?
Answer
Retribution (they deserve it), deterrence (put others off), and rehabilitation (change the offender).
Question
Retribution vs deterrence vs rehabilitation — direction?
Answer
Retribution looks backward (at the crime); deterrence and rehabilitation look forward (at society and at the person).
Question
Kant's view of punishment?
Answer
Punish because the person is guilty and deserves it — never merely to be useful, or you treat them as a tool.
Question
Why does Kant reject punishing 'just to deter'?
Answer
It uses the punished person as a mere tool for society's benefit, which wrongs their dignity as a rational agent.
Question
The consequences (forward-looking) view?
Answer
Pain is bad in itself, so punishment is justified only by the future good it brings — deterrence and reform.
Question
The 'framing the innocent' worry?
Answer
Pure usefulness could justify punishing an innocent person if it scared enough people — a monstrous result, so usefulness alone fails.
Question
The 'pointless cruelty' worry?
Answer
Pure desert can demand punishment even when it helps no one — suffering for its own sake, which looks like cruelty.
Question
Why do many settle for a hybrid (Go further)?
Answer
Punish only the guilty (Kant's limit, so no framing) but shape it to do some good — avoiding both cruelty and sacrificing the innocent.
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Topic 7.2 hub
Justice
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