PHIL 140 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Speeder, Counterexample, Eye For An Eye
11 May 2016
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Document Summary
Punishment is the deliberate and intentional infliction of pain or the deliberate and intentional deprivation of something valuable (e. g. , liberty, money, life): utilitarian justification of punishment. The utilitarian justification of punishment is based on utilitarianism. Utilitarianism: an action is right if and only if it maximizes the good. The utilitarian justification of punishment: a punishment is justified if and only if it maximizes the good. If punishing an offender produces the greatest amount of goodness compared with other available options (e. g. , not taking any action), then this punishment is justified. If another available option produces a greater amount of goodness, then that option should be chosen and the punishment under consideration is not justified. Punishment is justified solely in terms of its consequences (especially, achieving a greater balance of good over bad). Punishment is not a good in itself (according to utilitarianism, no actions are good or bad in themselves).
