4 ms·

Sure, it's a construct, but do you really want to throw responsibility over board? Why punish people if their choices are just consequences of weird electron co

• spiralx 8y ago
  Because not having free will won't change the fact that we act as though we do, nor will it change the desired outcome - punishment is meant as a deterrence, not just retribution.
  • OpenBSD-supreme 8y ago
    Punishment and retribution may be (err... are) the wrong reasons. It should be about debugging the economic/environmental problem in crimes of desperation and the mental problems in crimes of calculation, and it should be balanced with preserving the safety and integrity of the public. The way I see it the vast majority of crime is caused by desperation (apparently no options in the face of survival needs, eg basic food/shelter/comfort) or by sociopathy (not respecting the rights of others). Locking criminals into concrete boxes and lording over them constantly sure doesn't do much to instill the correct models of how to live in our society. Most of these people will one day be released, and most of the released will return to prison, because prison not only fails to repair the traumas which put them there but actually fosters more traumas which on average worsen their mental conditions! It's a self feeding system! The men who manage to escape the cycle on release most often have great external support networks, the few without the network somehow do it by their own wills to power. The remainder run circles through the rotating doors and continue to be a menace on society. A menace which justifies larger police, court, and prison budgets.
  • noiv 8y ago
    That needs some citation. Or why then is justice so fixated at the right guy suffers at the end?