Punishment as Societal-Defense

(Paperback)

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People punished by law are treated in ways that we consider immoral in other contexts. In Punishment as Societal-Defense, Phillip Montague develops a new theory of punishment that, instead of justifying it on the basis of deterrence or retribution, constructs it as analogous to individual self-defense. If people are justified in defending themselves against wrongful aggression, Montague argues, the same principles of distributive justice underlie punishment as societal defense.

Author Bio

Phillip Montague is Professor of Philosophy at Western Washington University and author of In the Interests of Others: An Essay in Moral Philosophy.