Responsibility and Punishment

A provocative and lucid defense of retributivism against several long-standing criticisms. The author explores the matter of reparations for past wrongs in the case of crimes committed against Native Americans by the United States Government. Unequaled in its depth and scope of discussion the book delves deeply into particular concerns with retributivism, responsibility, and certain areas of compensation.

Corlett (philosophy, San Diego State U.) considers theories of responsibility and punishment and presents a defense of retributivism. He contends that most anti-retributivist arguments refute a version of retributivism that is so extreme that not even Kant would subscribe to it or that such objections count equally against every positive theory of punishment. Coverage extends to an examination of the idea of reparations to Native Americans for crimes committed against them by the U.S. government.

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J. Angelo Corlett is Professor of Philosophy & Ethics at San Diego State University, and author of over 75 articles in various leading philosophy and other academic journals, including the books: Analyzing Social Knowledge (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 1996); Terrorism: A Philosophical Analysis (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003), Philosophical Studies Series, Volume 101; Race, Racism, and Reparations (Cornell University Press, 2003). He also serves as the Editor-in –Chief of The Journal of Ethics: An International Philosophical Review (Springer), and is the editor of and contributor to Equality and Liberty: Analyzing Rawls and Nozick (Macmillan, 1990).