COLL: THEORIES OF PUNISHMENT AND THE AME

Why do we punish? How do we justify it? Is punishment, ultimately, good? In this course, we will examine a range of philosophical treatments of punishment, texts in political theory and contemporary case studies (involving issues like corporal punishment, symbolic punishment, outgroup alienation) in order to better triangulate the very function of punishment in society. We will begin with the thesis that punishment, as a whole, is good: the rehabilitative and restorative traditions, along with relevant readings from thinkers like Kant and Hegel, articulate the moral and social benefits of punishment. As the semester proceeds, we will look to more instrumental utilizations of punishment, as referenced by utilitarian and deterrent traditions along with readings from Bentham and Machiavelli. Finally, we will look to historical genealogies of punishment coming out of Nietzsche and Foucault, which argue that our received understandings of punishment are predicated on a contingent history of conflicting narratives that ultimately has come to deny or exploit us. As we confront this broad spectrum of viewpoints, from ‘punishment as a possibility for righting the soul’ to ‘punishment as a vector of power exerted upon us’, we will continually revisit the questions of why we punish and to what end we punish.

Questions relevant to contemporary politics to highlight: What political ramifications does punishing someone have? What effect does the rally-round-the-flag effect have? What happens when we punish other groups symbolically or physically? Can punishment be justified even if the accused is innocent? What forms of punishment are defensible? What does a philosophy of punishment have to do with mass incarceration? Should prisons be abolished?