Haddin Arts & Sciences Forum: “Punishment, Fun-ishment, and Rejecting Retributivism”
- When
- Friday, November 13, 202612:20 PM – 1:10 PM CSTAdd to calendarGoogle Calendar
- Where
- Mervyn Sterne Library 163917 13th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294Open in Maps
- Hosted by
- College of Arts & Sciences
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About
Presenter: Matt King, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Philosophy
Topic: “Punishment, Fun-ishment, and Rejecting Retributivism”
Retributivism – the idea that wrongdoers deserve punishment – is widely accepted and, to many, deeply obvious. Only the guilty should be punished, and only to the degree of their blameworthiness. In this talk, I challenge retributivism by showing that nothing about a person’s desert of punishment follows from being blameworthy. In particular, I argue that blame is not a form of harm treatment, so while the blameworthy deserve blame, it doesn’t follow that they deserve hard treatment. Moreover, appreciating why blame is not a form of hard treatment reveals a broader implication: how we ought to treat the blameworthy is not determined by their blameworthiness at all. It is an entirely separate substantive question. This means that basic retributivism – that deserved punishment tracks blameworthiness – will require independent argument.
Lunch will be served. Please RSVP here by Monday, Nov. 9, to help us plan for the correct number of meals.
Questions? Email haddinforum@uab.edu.
The Haddin Arts & Sciences Forum offers scholarship that is interdisciplinary and translatable to a broad audience, celebrating and elevating the intellectual vibrancy present in the academic atmosphere of the College of Arts and Sciences.