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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
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    108,905
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    42
    Antony Duff's expressivist account demonstrates that puni... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→The notion of retributive justice would be on sounder footing if the first justificatory strategy were supplemented by a theoretical justification for punitive hard treatment tied to a more general set of principles of justice.

    Antony Duff's expressivist account demonstrates that punitive hard treatment can be justified as communicative penance without appealing to general distributive principles of justice.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Punishment as penance focuses on wrongdoer's moral recognition, making distributive fairness to victims secondary to expressive function.
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    • 2.Duff's account avoids circularity: it justifies hard treatment through communicative purpose, not by presupposing justice principles.
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    • 3.Expressivist theories can ground proportionality through seriousness of moral message needed, independent of comparative desert claims.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Communication alone cannot justify imposing suffering; some independent moral principle must authorize state-inflicted harm on citizens.
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    • 2.Duff's account tacitly relies on distributive assumptions (fairness, desert) when determining what penance adequately expresses wrongdoing.
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    • 3.If punishment expresses community values, it still requires justice principles to prevent arbitrary or disproportionate expression against offenders.
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    Key Terms

    Antony Duff(as a key figure in punishment philosophy)
    A contemporary philosopher who developed the 'expressive theory' of punishment, arguing that punishment should primarily express moral condemnation of crime.
    Communicative penance(as the justification for why punishment is acceptable)
    A form of punishment that works by sending a message or expressing something (like disapproval or the need for repair), similar to how someone might apologize to make amends for wrongdoing.
    Expressivist account(as used in ethics)
    A philosophical theory that explains something by focusing on what it communicates or expresses, rather than just its practical effects.
    General distributive principles of justice(as the traditional approach Duff's theory avoids relying on)
    Broad rules about how good and bad things (like rewards and punishments) should be fairly divided among people in society.
    Punitive hard treatment(as used in philosophy of punishment)
    Harsh or unpleasant consequences (like imprisonment or fines) that are intentionally imposed as punishment.

    Connections

    1 topic

    Justice & Punishment1 linked

    Related

    Communication alone cannot justify imposing suffering; some independent moral pr...Duff's account avoids circularity: it justifies hard treatment through communica...Duff's account tacitly relies on distributive assumptions (fairness, desert) whe...Expressivist theories can ground proportionality through seriousness of moral me...
    +3 moreShow less
    If punishment expresses community values, it still requires justice principles t...Punishment as penance focuses on wrongdoer's moral recognition, making distribut...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    The notion of retributive justice would be on sounder footing if the first justi...