17. Punishment I

Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature (PHIL 181)

Professor Gendler begins with a discussion of differing responses to hypothetical and actual examples, and offers an actual example of a Trolley Problem. Then, the central topic of the lecture, punishment, is presented. After offering a characterization of what civil punishment involves, Professor Gendler discusses various justifications that have been offered of the practice. She distinguishes between justifications that are forward-looking and those that are backward-looking, and between justifications that are primarily victim-directed and those that are primarily offender-directed. These outlooks are then connected to the moral views that have been presented in earlier lectures: Utilitarianism and deontology.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Hypothetical Versus Actual Cases
10:27 - Chapter 2. What Is Punishment?
23:26 - Chapter 3. Justifications for Punishment: Overview
32:05 - Chapter 4. Retributivism

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu

This course was recorded in Spring 2011.