What philosophers say about death penalty?
Its proponents believe that criminals should be made to pay a price, the worst of them with their lives; the opponents argue that capital punishment is immoral, inhuman, a denial of human dignity, and, as a deterrent, no more effective than long- term prison sentences.
What did Plato say about death penalty?
Capital punishment in Plato ‘s penology is reserved for the incurable and the bad men themselves would seem better candidates for this penalty than those who in spite of propensities to vice yet succeed in avoiding the greatest judgement.
What did Kant say about punishment?
For Kant, giving criminals what they deserve is the only legitimate reason to punish them. If we punish them in order to promote happiness, then we are violating the categorical imperative by treating them as a mere means to an end.
Would Aristotle support the death penalty?
It is the judicial execution of criminals judged guilty of capital offenses by the state, or in other words, the death penalty. Aristotle is against capital punishment, while Mill believes it is morally permissible.
What did Thomas Aquinas say about the death penalty?
Thomas was a vocal supporter of the death penalty. This was based on the theory (found in natural moral law), that the state has not only the right, but the duty to protect its citizens from enemies, both from within, and without.
Why was Kant for the death penalty?
But Kant’s idea is that the wrongdoer is punished justly because he suffers roughly the same amount of harm that he imposed on his victim. By contrast, if the high-status wrongdoer were simply made to listen to a verbal insult, or pay a fine, he would not be punished severely enough, and his punishment would be unjust.
Does Plato believe in the death penalty?
Plato does not commit himself to the view that all forms of punishment benefits the criminal as he reasons that only just punishment has this effect. The death penalty is imposed for the worst offenders but in Plato’s opinion it is not considered to be an extreme penalty.
Who taught Aristotle?
Plato
Who were Aristotle’s teachers and students? Aristotle’s most famous teacher was Plato (c. 428–c. 348 BCE), who himself had been a student of Socrates (c.
What did Socrates think about the death penalty?
Socrates does indeed consider the penalty to be unjust, not because it is so harsh, but because it was laid down at all. His alternative, then, is not a lighter penalty, but a reward.
Did Immanuel Kant support the death penalty?
Kant exemplifies a pure retributivism about capital punishment: murderers must die for their offense, social consequences are wholly irrelevant, and the basis for linking the death penalty to the crime is “the Law of Retribution,” the ancient maxim, lex talionis, rooted in “the principle of equality.”
Does Kant support murder?
Kant’s answer is this: “If, however, he has committed murder he must die. Here there is no substitute that will satisfy justice. There is no similarity between life, however wretched it may be, and death, hence no likeness between the crime and the retribution unless death is judicially carried out upon the wrongdoer”.
Which theory of punishment is the most humanitarian?
‘ According to the Humanitarian theory, to punish a man because he deserves it, and as much as he deserves, is mere revenge, and, therefore, barbarous and immoral. It is maintained that the only legitimate motives for punishing are the desire to deter others by example or to mend the criminal.
What do philosophers think about the death penalty?
Among major European philosophers, specific or systematic attention to the death penalty is the exception until about 400 years ago. Most modern philosophic attention to capital punishment emerged from penal reform proponents, as principled, moral evaluation of law and social practice, or amidst theories of the modern state and sovereignty.
Who invented capital punishment?
Capital punishment has existed for millennia, as evident from ancient law codes and Plato’s famous rendition of Socrates’s trial and execution by democratic Athens in 399 B.C.E. Among major European philosophers, specific or systematic attention to the death penalty is the exception until about 400 years ago.
Who made a declaration in favour of the death penalty?
A declaration in favour of the death penalty was made by great philosophers such as Plato, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer.
Is there a natural law argument against the death penalty?
Arguments against the death penalty can be made not only on the basis of theology but also on the basis of natural law philosophy. The first in a two-part series. This essay is part of our collection on the legitimacy of capital punishment. See the full collection here.