Haddin Arts & Sciences Forum: “Punishment, Fun-ishment, and Rejecting Retributivism”

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 [email protected].

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.