Buch, Englisch, 184 Seiten, Format (B × H): 134 mm x 212 mm, Gewicht: 258 g
Buch, Englisch, 184 Seiten, Format (B × H): 134 mm x 212 mm, Gewicht: 258 g
ISBN: 978-0-631-15322-1
Verlag: Wiley-Blackwell
Tom Sorell's book concerns not simply capital punishment but the use of philosophical theories of right and wrong. He argues that such theories are not to be regarded as giving expert knowledge of value, still less a definite technique for resolving practical dilemmas. Instead, they improve moral rhetoric and raise the standard of persuasive speech for and against capital punishment, abortion and euthanasia by introducing higher standards of justification for claims about these practices.
Moral Theory and Capital Punishment illustrated how philosophical theory can be applied to questions of wide public concern. It introduces the leading moral theories proposed by philosophers and derives from them a variety of arguments for and against the death penalty. The conclusion reached is that capital punishment is morally justifiable in certain cases but extremely difficult to introduce safely into general legislation.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
CHAPTER ONE Killing: moral rhetoric and moral philosophy 1
1 Permissible killing 1
2 Principles and their sources 3
3 The rhetoric of life and death 7
4 Moral philosophy: normative ethics 13
5 Distrusting moral theory 16
6 Philosophy and impracticality 18
7 Exaggerated expectations 21
8 Philosophy and privileged access to the good 22
9 Philosophy and moral dilemmas 26
CHAPTER Two A selected controversy 30
1 Applying philosophy 30
2 Pleading for the death penalty 32
3 Arguments against capital punishment 44
4 The limitations of rhetoric again 51
CHAPTER THREE Moral theory and moral theories 56
1 Justification and moral theory 56
2 From theory to theories 62
3 Taking stock 77
CHAPTER Four Utilitarianism and the death penalty 80
1 Mill's speech 81
2 Glover's abolitionist leanings 92
3 Glover versus Mill 99
CHAPTER FIVE Cruel and unusual punishment? 102
1 On not turning back the clock 103
2 The American courts and the Eighth Amendment 107
3 Justice Brennan's opinion in Furman 110
4 From Furman to Gregg v. Georgia 118
5 Other arguments 120
CHAPTER SIX A Kantian approach 129
1 Crime and punishment in Kant's civil society 130
2 Kant on the death penalty 136
3 Taking stock 143
CHAPTER SEVEN Retributivism and Kant's retributivism 147
1 Some principles 147
2 Kant's theory and others 154
3 Conclusion 160
Index 165
