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Chapter 1 - Defining Social Punishment

from Part I - The Descartes Lectures 2018

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2020

Linda Radzik ,
Christopher Bennett ,
Glen Pettigrove  and
George Sher
By
Linda Radzik
Linda Radzik
Affiliation:
Texas A & M University
Christopher Bennett
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
Glen Pettigrove
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow
George Sher
Affiliation:
Rice University, Houston
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Summary

The philosophical literature on punishment concentrates its attention almost exclusively on legal forms of punishment. Indeed, some writers suggest that our common methods for enforcing morality in everyday life (such as angry rebukes, social withdrawal, consumer boycotts, and public shaming) are not really punitive at all. This chapter argues that social punishment is a genuine phenomenon that is deserving of philosophical attention. It distinguishes between formal and informal social punishments and explains how these differ from nonpunitive responses to wrongdoing such as moral criticism and natural penalties.

Keywords

punishmentdefinition of punishmentsocial punishmentrebukesocial withdrawalmoral criticismblamenatural penalties
Type
Chapter
Information
The Ethics of Social Punishment
The Enforcement of Morality in Everyday Life
 , pp. 3 - 23
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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