Socrates Exchange: Why do we punish?

Socrates Exchange: Why do we punish?justice
By Laura Knoy on Friday, April 15, 2011
Why should we punish?  To “balance the scales of justice”?  To exact revenge?  To deter crime?  To remove the offender from free society?  To reform the offender? Is punishment a moral act, or is it simply a form of social control? Is punishing children different from punishing criminal offenders? Is there a difference between torture and punishment? Is death ever justifiable punishment? Does punishment strip the punished of her dignity? Which rights should prisoners loose?  The right to vote?  The right to privacy?  The right to be a parent? Should convicts have the option of paying a fine rather than serving time? Should corporate crimes resulting in death carry punishments similar to those for murder?
Guest
Max Latona, Associate Professor of Philosophy at St. Anselm College
Links:

Apostrophe Quiz

Before class is over, all students need to take the Apostrophe Quiz at That Quiz.

1. Log in.

2. Go to the lower, right-hand corner of the homepage and type or paste your test code into the box.

Carter: SXRS3516

Eisenhower: XHQT8909

Lincoln: DRFD9843

Washington: VWRF4725

Don’t forget to record your score.