The retributive emotions: passions and pains of punishment

It is not usually morally permissible to desire the suffering of another person, or to act so as to satisfy this desire; that is, to act with the aim of bringing about suffering. If the retributive emotions, and the retributive responses of which they are a part, morally permitted or even required,...

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Main Author: Holroyd, Jules
Format: Article
Published: Routledge 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1933/
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author Holroyd, Jules
author_facet Holroyd, Jules
author_sort Holroyd, Jules
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description It is not usually morally permissible to desire the suffering of another person, or to act so as to satisfy this desire; that is, to act with the aim of bringing about suffering. If the retributive emotions, and the retributive responses of which they are a part, morally permitted or even required, we will need to see what is distinctive about them. One line of argument in this paper is for the conclusion that a retributive desire for the suffering of the wrong-doer, and the aim to bring this about, can (contra recent arguments from Hanna 2008) be morally justified. It has been suggested that by reflecting on the role of the retributive emotions in interpersonal relationships, and the alleged legitimacy of the aim for the suffering of the wrong-doer within them, support can be garnered for retributive practices of punishment by the state (Duff 1986 and 2001, Bennett 2002 and 2003). The conclusion of the second line of argument in the paper is that whilst the retributive responses can permissibly aim at suffering, the way in which this is so in interpersonal relationships cannot provide support for retributive state punishment.
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spelling nottingham-19332020-05-04T20:24:46Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1933/ The retributive emotions: passions and pains of punishment Holroyd, Jules It is not usually morally permissible to desire the suffering of another person, or to act so as to satisfy this desire; that is, to act with the aim of bringing about suffering. If the retributive emotions, and the retributive responses of which they are a part, morally permitted or even required, we will need to see what is distinctive about them. One line of argument in this paper is for the conclusion that a retributive desire for the suffering of the wrong-doer, and the aim to bring this about, can (contra recent arguments from Hanna 2008) be morally justified. It has been suggested that by reflecting on the role of the retributive emotions in interpersonal relationships, and the alleged legitimacy of the aim for the suffering of the wrong-doer within them, support can be garnered for retributive practices of punishment by the state (Duff 1986 and 2001, Bennett 2002 and 2003). The conclusion of the second line of argument in the paper is that whilst the retributive responses can permissibly aim at suffering, the way in which this is so in interpersonal relationships cannot provide support for retributive state punishment. Routledge 2010-11 Article PeerReviewed Holroyd, Jules (2010) The retributive emotions: passions and pains of punishment. Philosophical Papers, 39 (3). pp. 343-371. ISSN 0556-8641 punishment retributivism responsibility http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/05568641.2010.538914 doi:10.1080/05568641.2010.538914 doi:10.1080/05568641.2010.538914
spellingShingle punishment
retributivism
responsibility
Holroyd, Jules
The retributive emotions: passions and pains of punishment
title The retributive emotions: passions and pains of punishment
title_full The retributive emotions: passions and pains of punishment
title_fullStr The retributive emotions: passions and pains of punishment
title_full_unstemmed The retributive emotions: passions and pains of punishment
title_short The retributive emotions: passions and pains of punishment
title_sort retributive emotions: passions and pains of punishment
topic punishment
retributivism
responsibility
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1933/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1933/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1933/