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Should retributivists prefer prepunishment?
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Tomlin, Patrick (2015) Should retributivists prefer prepunishment? Social Theory and Practice, 41 (2). pp. 275-285. doi:10.5840/soctheorpract201541215 ISSN 2154-123X.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/soctheorpract201541215
Abstract
Some philosophers believe that we can, in theory, justifiably prepunish people—that is, punish them for a crime before they have committed that crime. In particular, it has been claimed that retributivists ought (in principle) to accept prepunishment. The question of whether prepunishment can be justified has sparked an interesting and growing philosophical debate. In this paper I look at a slightly different question: whether retributivists who accept that prepunishment can be justified should prefer (ordinary) postpunishment or prepunishment, or see them (in principle) as on a par. The answer is complex: asking this question brings to light unrecognized distinctions within both retributivism and prepunishment, giving us four different answers to the question, depending on what kind of retributivism and what kind of prepunishment are combined. Surprisingly, given that it is usually presented as a second best, to be pursued only when postpunishment is unavailable, some combinations will find prepunishment preferable.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare K Law [Moys] > KA Jurisprudence |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Philosophy | ||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Punishment -- Philosophy, Retribution | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Social Theory and Practice | ||||||
Publisher: | Florida State University Department of Philosophy | ||||||
ISSN: | 2154-123X | ||||||
Official Date: | April 2015 | ||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 41 | ||||||
Number: | 2 | ||||||
Page Range: | pp. 275-285 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.5840/soctheorpract201541215 | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 4 July 2018 | ||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 4 July 2018 |
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