Defending the Social Good Theory of Punishment

• Main Author: Scott, Sydney R
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2016
• Subjects: Punishment; paternalistic theory; moral education theory; social good theory; Philosophy
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/164; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1164&context=pomona_theses

This paper attempts to justify punishment on the grounds that it is a benefit to the person being punished. I accept the basic premise of a previous theory of punishment, the Moral Good Theory (MGT), which states that we cannot harm anyone. Thus, punishment can only be justified if it is not a harm. The MGT claims that punishment is beneficial in that it provides a moral education to the offender. I I reject the idea that punishment is morally educational and instead propose a new theory which revises and strengthens the MGT, accounting for its flaws. This new theory, the Social Good Theory, argues instead that punishment is beneficial because it allows a criminal to be reintegrated into society.