Only by being grounded in or connected to other deeply held moral principles should the intuitive appeal of retributive justice be regarded, in reflective equilibrium, as morally sound.
reflective equilibrium(Introduced by Goodman in the context of justifying induction)
A methodological state reached when considered judgments and the inference rules that best explain those judgments are mutually coherent, achieved by iteratively revising either judgments or rules when conflicts arise
retributive justice(criminal law)
The principle that those who culpably cause harm should suffer the censure and deprivations constitutive of punishment
To respond to these challenges, retributive justice must ultimately be justified in a larger moral context that shows that it is plausibly grounded in, or at least connected to, other, deeply held moral principles. Only in this way should its intuitive appeal be regarded, in reflective equilibrium, as morally sound. For a discussion of the prospects for deeper justification, see section 5.