Philosophy 338 Professor Hubin THE UTILITARIAN THEORY OF PUNISHMENT I. Utilitarian Theories of Punishment: Utilitarian justifications are forward-looking (consequentialistic) in nature. All of the questions about the justification of punishment (general justification‚ title and severity) will be answered by appeal to the utility (value) of the consequences of an action. A. The General Justification: All punishment is‚ according to the utilitarian‚ intrinsically bad‚ because it involves the
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The underlying principle of utilitarian theory is it seeks to punish offenders to discourage or deter future unlawful activity. However‚ the retributive theory seeks to punish offenders because they deserve to be punished (Net Industries‚ 2014). The utilitarian theory recognizes that punishment has penalties for both the offender and society. It holds that the total good created by the punishment should go beyond the entirety of evil; meaning punishment should not be unlimited. For example‚ releasing
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Capital punishment as known as death penalty‚ means someone who should be punished in his behavior. Of course‚ this punishment has been abolished in the United States. Theory of punishment can be divided into two concepts: the Utilitarian and Retributive. Utilitarian theory of punishment to discourage criminal behaviors someone attempts to punish the perpetrators‚ or " shock and awe”‚ the future wrong behavior. Retribution theory attempts to punish the perpetrators because they should be punished
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John Mill’s Utilitarianism theory * All his theory focuses on is maximizing utility for the greatest number of people possible * Moral as long as it is the “best action” to maximize happiness for the greatest number‚ even if a single person has to sacrifice * BP’s oil spill throughout the Gulf of Mexico is exactly the opposite from Mill’s theory because it actually minimizes utility for everyone who is affected. The spill devastated coastal beaches and businesses that relied on tourism
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severe punishment. Utilitarian and retributive is considered to be two philosophies based on the theories of punishment. For example‚ researchers stated that utilitarian theory of sentence seeks to punish and prevent criminals to do more harm‚ however‚ the retributive theory believed that criminals deserved to faced criminal charges (Punishment - Theories of Punishment‚ 2016). Some philosophers believed that the United States laws can be demonstrated as happiness of society under the utilitarian theories
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This assignment will provide an overview of the main justifications for punishment and essentially discuss the moral and political arguments for and against punishment. A constant theme that will run throughout will be the Utilitarian philosophy of punishment. Utilitarianism is forward-looking and therefore seeks to prevent the reoccurrence of crime. This is generally achieved through Deterrence‚ Rehabilitation and Incapacitation with all too some extent playing a vital role in the criminal justice
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I think that Singers conclusion with the famine in India differs from the conclusion that a Utilitarian might reach with regards to the “The Truth about Torture” in several ways. The difference between torturing a terrorist to protect the masses is consistent with Utilitarian Theory. Although Singer’s conclusion does appear to deviate from Utilitarian Theory‚ it actually follows some utilitarian moral principles in the fact that human greed in the western world‚ which is immoral‚ appears to
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the basic elements of a utilitarian moral theory. Utilitarianism is established as a theory promoting increasing utility and especially the happiness of as many people as possible. Utilitarian’s believe the function of morality as a social institution‚ is to advocate humans well-being by increasing welfare and decreasing damage. Thus‚ moral rules are regarded as a way to accomplish individual needs and meet social aims. The first basic element of a utilitarian moral theory is The Principle of Utility
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Kantian and Utilitarian Theories Kantian and Utilitarian Theories Applying philosophical concepts to social issues can test the relevance of philosophy in contemporary society. Such application may also help to resolve present-day social issues‚ as philosophy can draw light on moral concerns. In this paper‚ the Kantian and Utilitarian moral theories are applied to the Nestle advertising controversy which began in 1970‚ and which lingers
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Theories of why we punish offenders are crucial to the understanding of criminal law; in fact it is not easy to define legal punishment‚ however one thing is clear within the different theories of punishment is that they all require justification.[1] There are many theories of punishment yet they are predominantly broken down into two main categories. The utilitarian theory seeks to punish offenders to discourage‚ or “deter‚” future wrong doing. The retributive theory seeks to punish offenders
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