Punishment, like all complex human institutions, tends to change as ways of thinking go in and out of fashion or norms. Political, normative, psychological, social, and legal ideas concerning punishment have changed drastically over time, and especially in the most recent decades. Why Punish? How Much? eBook collects essays from contemporary theorists and classical philosophers to examine these shifts. Michael Tonry has gathered a comprehensive set of readings ranging from Hegel, Kant, and Bentham to recent writings on developments in the behavioral and medical sciences. Together they cover foundations of punishment theory such as retributivism, consequentialism, and functionalism, new approaches like communitarian, restorative, and therapeutic justice, and mixed approaches that attempt to link policy and theory. This volume includes an accessible introduction that chronicles the development of punishment systems and theorizing over the course of the last 2 centuries. Why Punish? How Much? (PDF) provides a comprehensive and fresh approach to thinking about sentencing and punishment for a broad range of philosophy, sociology, law, and criminology courses.
Review
“This is a wonderful selection of contemporary and historical readings that together address all the main themes of punishment theory. The editor’s clear and insightful introductions situate the texts and allow students to make sense of the debates. It will make an ideal etextbook for any course on punishment theory” – – Matt Matravers, Director of the School of Politics, Economics, & Philosophy, University of York
“Why Punish? How Much? is a brilliantly organized and highly focused collection on punishment purposes, compiled at a time when the discussion of purposes at all levels is often incomplete and sometimes incoherent. I recommend this volume to judges, lawyers and students of criminal law and criminology alike.” – – Marc L. Miller, Professor of Law, University of Arizona College of Law
“College law students, especially, will value this historically informed, multi-disciplinary, and yet cutting-edge anthology on 2 of the perennial though most problematic questions of criminal law.” – – John Kleinig, Director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
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