Moral Desert (eBook)

A Critique

Howard Simmons (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2010
162 Seiten
Upa (Verlag)
978-0-7618-5095-3 (ISBN)

Infos

In this book, the author critically explores the idea that we deserve to be praised or rewarded for good behavior and blamed or punished when we act badly, which seems central to everyone's moral deliberation and practices. Simmons considers the implications of his views for distributive justice and personal morality.

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In Moral Desert, Howard Simmons notes that the idea that we deserve to be praised or rewarded for good behavior and blamed or punished when we act badly seems central to everyone's moral deliberation and practices. Simmons subjects this assumption to critical scrutiny. He argues that in a wide range of cases it is almost impossible to know the extent of people's moral responsibility, and indeed that it may be a complete delusion. He attacks the still-popular theory of retributive punishment, with special reference to the views of Peter French and J. Angelo Corlett. Simmons does not conclude that punishment is always unjustified, but insists that any justification should relate to its real world consequences. State punishment should be inflicted according to strict consequentialist precepts, and the author provides systematic principles for determining an appropriate sentence and for deciding when offenders should be excused. He also considers the implications of his views for distributive justice and personal morality.

Autor

Howard Simmons studied philosophy and modern languages at The Queen's College, Oxford, and obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy at McMaster University. He is currently an adviser to secondary school teachers of philosophy for the British Philosophical Association and an editor with the PhilPapers database.

Inhalt

Part 1 PrefacePart 2 1. Quandaries of DesertChapter 3 1.1 Gary Hart and the Selby Rail DisasterChapter 4 1.2 Internalism versus externalismChapter 5 1.3 Further development of internalismChapter 6 1.4 Further problems with desertChapter 7 1.5 Positive desertPart 8 2. The Implications of DeterminismChapter 9 2.1 Determinism, 'hard' and 'soft'Chapter 10 2.2 Frankfurst casesChapter 11 2.3 LibertarianismChapter 12 2.4 Determinism and moralityChapter 14 NotesPart 14 3. RetributivismChapter 15 3.1 IntroductionChapter 16 3.2 Retributivism: a first lookChapter 17 3.3 Peter French and vengence theoryChapter 18 3.4 Corlett's account: expositionChapter 19 3.5 Corlett's account: critiqueChapter 20 3.6 Negative Retributivism and some thought experimentsChapter 22 NotesPart 22 4. A Utilitarian Approach to PunishmentChapter 23 4.1 Utilitarianism in generalChapter 24 4.2 The basic utilitarian argumentsChapter 25 4.3 Objections to utilitarian punishment and responsesChapter 26 4.4 A return to desert?Chapter 28 NotesPart 28 5. Utilitarian Punishment in DetailChapter 29 5.1 Guiding principlesChapter 30 5.2 The S-score algorithmChapter 31 5.3 From S-scores to actual sentencesChapter 32 5.4 Case studies for the application of the algorithmChapter 33 5.5 ExculpationChapter 34 5.6 State Punishment within the familyChapter 35 5.7 Punishment within the familyPart 37 6. Effort and Distributive JusticeChapter 37 NotesChapter 38 6.1 IntroductionChapter 39 6.2 Sher versus RawlsChapter 40 6.3 Distributive justiceChapter 42 NotesPart 42 7. Morality and BlameChapter 43 7.1 Hostility to wrongdoersChapter 44 7.2 Sher on blamePart 46 8. Conclusion: Desert Skeptics in a vengeful worldChapter 46 NotesChapter 47 NotesPart 48 AppendixPart 49 ReferencesPart 50 Index

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 23.2.2010
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Ethik
• Themenwelt: Recht / Steuern ► EU / Internationales Recht
• Themenwelt: Recht / Steuern ► Öffentliches Recht ► Verfassungsverfahrensrecht
• Themenwelt: Recht / Steuern ► Privatrecht / Bürgerliches Recht ► Berufs-/Gebührenrecht
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Staat / Verwaltung
• Schlagworte: American Government • Political Science
• ISBN-10: 0-7618-5095-3 / 0761850953
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7618-5095-3 / 9780761850953