Blame and Retribution

Conferencia Inaugural de Posgrados Departamento de Filosofía Blame and Retribution The ideas of retribution, blame and punishment structure a variety of our most coercive social practices. In accounting for these attitudes and practices, philosophers have tended to begin from broadly normative concerns, e.g., considerations of desert, justice, or the fair distribution of benefits and costs. The proposal here starts in a different place. It begins with the psychological and plausibly adaptive roles played by retributive and blaming attitudes. In particular, consideration of the underlying psychological and social dimensions of these things suggests that the relationship of blame and retribution and punishment is somewhat more complex than standard accounts suggest. The ambition of this paper is to offer a more promising account of these things. The proposal—The Mediation Theory of Blame—holds that blame is distinct from retribution, and that blame norms are responsive to a variety of inter- and intrapersonal considerations. If the Mediation Theory of Blame is right, it grounds a distinctive set of constraints on the justification available for state-sponsored institutions of retributive punishment. The result is that state sponsored justifications of retributive punishment may be quite fragile, in the sense that under a wide range of social conditions, the warrant or justification for retributive punishment may be difficult, but not impossible, to meet.   Fecha: miércoles, 21 de octubre Hora: 5:00 p.m. Lugar: Auditorio ML C   Más información aquí