Chapter 1 Outline

Religion plays a major force in punishment
Emotion trumps reason in moral discourse
Durkheim believes punishment serves to soothe, pacify, and provide pleasant feelings for those witnessing it

Retribution: Punishment that is justly deserved for its own sake and does not need to be justified further—an eye for an eye
Humans experience pleasure when wrongdoers are punished
Altruism: An active concern for the well-being of another at some cost to the self
Reciprocal Altruism: The extending of a benefit to another with the unspoken expectation of obtaining a like benefit from the recipient at some later date
Punishment signals the restoration of fairness and predictability

Third-party punishers: Individuals not directly harmed and who will not directly benefit from the punishment
Third-party punishment of norm violations is the cornerstone of modern models of criminal justice

Cesare Beccaria noted in the 18th century that brutal acts of retribution resulted in general distrust and social alienation
Retributive justice is driven by the natural passion for punitive revenge
Restitutive justice is driven by simple deterrence and is more humanistic and tolerant than retributive justice

Free will and responsibility are the cornerstone of many debates about capital punishment
Hedonism: The central idea is that happiness is the ultimate goal for which all humans strive, and that all other goals are only a means to the end of achieving it
Rational behavior: Behavior that has a logical "fit" between the goals people strive for and means they use to achieve them
Hedonistic calculus: A method by which individuals are assumed to logically weigh the anticipated benefits of a given course of action against its possible costs
Free will: The faculty that enables human beings to purposely and deliberately choose a calculated course of action
Free will concept: Assumes that humans have the capacity to make choices and the responsibility to make moral ones

Compatibilism: Maintains that free will and determinism are compatible and that people are free to do what they want unless constrained by circumstances, either internal or external

Justifications are deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation-reintegration, and retribution
Utilitarianism: Ethical philosophy that claims an action is morally right if it produces the most benefits, happiness, and pleasure for the greatest number of people in society
Consequentialism: A philosophical position that justifies a practice in terms of the consequences assumed to come from it
Deterrence: Considered the primary function of punishment. Assumes many more individuals would engage in criminal and antisocial behavior if they did not fear the possibility of punishment
Incapacitation: The inability of criminals to victimize people outside prison walls while imprisoned
Rehabilitation: To restore or return to constructive or healthy activity
Reintegration: Aims to use the time criminals are under correctional supervision to prepare them to reenter free society better equipped to remain there than they were previously
Retribution: A non-consequentialist position on punishment that believes punishment for its own sake is morally justified become criminals deserve it

Kant believed humans are guided by reason
Categorical imperative: Principle stating that an act should be done "in itself" regardless of any further end
A proponent of the death penalty, Kant believed criminals should be punished in proportion to the harm they inflicted on their victims

Human emotions rule when confronted with a moral issue such as capital punishment
Retribution is the most frequently cited justification for punishment

Example of forgiveness strategy is sentencing first-time offenders to probation rather than prison, giving them a chance to redeem themselves (does not apply to capital murderers)
Some believe strict tit-for-tat strategies can be harmful, and forgiveness is useful for the purposes of reconciliation and reintegration into the community