PHIL 511

Spring 2019 All Classes

All Classes

Seminar Ethical Theory

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Credit: 2 OR 4 hours.

Intensive study of problems in ethical theory.

Approved for letter and S/U grading. May be repeated. Letter grading applies when offered for 4 hours of credit. For Stage 3 Philosophy PhD students this course is approved for S/U grading when offered for 2 hours of credit. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor for non-philosophy graduate students.

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PHIL 511 class schedule data for spring 2019
	CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
	58443	Lecture-Discussion	G2	3:30PM -6:30PM	W	402 Gregory Hall	Sussman, D	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/14/19-05/01/19 Credit: 2 hours Section Info: PHIL 511: Punishment - This seminar will examine philosophical attempts to justify the punishment of law-breakers by the state. To what extent does such punishment depend on retributive notions of deserved suffering, and are any of those notions morally defensible? What would happen if we abandoned our retributive sentiments entirely? Can punishment be justified by such “forward-looking” concerns as deterrence, incapacitation, and moral education, or by appeal to punishment’s expressive powers? We’ll also see what these putative justifications show us about the right ways to punish. Are there good defenses of lengthy incarceration that do not apply equally well (or better) to torture, slavery, mutilation, or death? What about shaming punishments? Does it make sense to punish merely attempted crimes any less severely than successful ones? Finally, we’ll consider possible alternatives to punishment, such as systems of restitution or “restorative justice.” These alternatives will be examined in light of how different understandings of repentance, forgiveness and mercy might bear on these questions. Here we’ll try to figure out what is going on morally when we seek or grant forgiveness, and whether these personal dynamics have any place (or significant analogues) in the sphere of law.
	58444	Lecture-Discussion	G4	3:30PM -6:30PM	W	402 Gregory Hall	Sussman, D	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/14/19-05/01/19 Credit: 4 hours Section Info: PHIL 511: Punishment - This seminar will examine philosophical attempts to justify the punishment of law-breakers by the state. To what extent does such punishment depend on retributive notions of deserved suffering, and are any of those notions morally defensible? What would happen if we abandoned our retributive sentiments entirely? Can punishment be justified by such “forward-looking” concerns as deterrence, incapacitation, and moral education, or by appeal to punishment’s expressive powers? We’ll also see what these putative justifications show us about the right ways to punish. Are there good defenses of lengthy incarceration that do not apply equally well (or better) to torture, slavery, mutilation, or death? What about shaming punishments? Does it make sense to punish merely attempted crimes any less severely than successful ones? Finally, we’ll consider possible alternatives to punishment, such as systems of restitution or “restorative justice.” These alternatives will be examined in light of how different understandings of repentance, forgiveness and mercy might bear on these questions. Here we’ll try to figure out what is going on morally when we seek or grant forgiveness, and whether these personal dynamics have any place (or significant analogues) in the sphere of law.