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Philosophical perspectives on punishment
163
BOOK REVIEWS
description scale, and their assumption throughout the book that correlation implies causation. Finally, we must look at the value judgements of the authors which reflect a zeitgeisl long past. While patriarchal homes stressing traditional religious values may be appropriate for some, functionally it is not for many. We may rhapsodize and place high values on this elusive and iridescent dream, but it is a naive, unrealistic view upon which to base ameliorative measures. The life style, values, and reality of many differ. It is incumbent upon us to divest ourselves of ethnocentricity, and to accept differences. This book may have limited appeal to those seeking immediate and concrete solutions, but it is highly unlikely that this book will be generally adopted as a text in universities or generate much serious research.
Department
Philosophical
Perspectives
On Punishment
David R. Walters Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Wisconsin
edited by Gertrude Ezorsky.
State University of New York Press (99 Washington 12210), 1972, 365 pp., paperback.
Ave., Albany,
New York,
This publication is a book of readings, with a ten-page introductory essay by editor Ezorsky, dealing with the matter of punishment from a philosophical point of view. Some forty-two brief essays are presented and categorized within five logical chapters titled as follows: (1) Concepts of Punishment, (2) The Justification of Punishment, (3) Strict Liability, (4) The Death Penalty, and (5) Alternatives to Punishment. Ezorsky, in her introductory essay on the “Ethics of Punishment,” has classified the various philosophical articles as teleological, retributivist, and teleological retributivist, and attempts a most difficult task of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis of the divergent viewpoints of such outstanding philosopher-scholars as Thomas Hobbes, Plato, Jeremy Bentham, Immanual Kant, G.W.F. Itegel, St. Thomas Acquinas, John Stuart Mill and other more contemporary philosophers, practitioners and governmental officials. This text is well suited for a graduate seminar in criminology, criminal justice and the philosophy of the law, as well as for other relevant post-graduate studies. The value of this text of readings is the bringing together in one volume the various historical and contemporary philosophical views of punishment. Certainly the subject is most timely given the current interest in the system of crime, delinquency, and the administration of justice. However, it is this reviewer’s feelings that the text would have been of greater value and readability if each of the five chapters had been proceeded by an introductory and analytical review of the articles regarding each chapter’s topical heading, plus a concluding
essay bringing to,gether in a summat-); fashion matter of punishment in human affairs.
the various points
of views as they relate to the
One of lhe major inadequacies of this text is the failure to specifically defirir 1)unishmcnt. <:haptei \’ is titled “Alternativr to Punishment,” and an article by Bernard Shaw on ~‘Imprisonmerit” ih includ&. Imprisomncnt is not an alternative to punishment, it ia a primary form of put~ishment for criminal behavior in our society. Additionally, there is a tic‘aq ~~tiilosol~hic~~11emphasi\ on the ineffec.tivcness of punishment, but once again, punishmc~nt is lleithci clearly defined nor- ia it pointed out that some for-m\ of scnsibl(, s;mction\ sic’ esacntial in the condut t of human affairs for rather obvious WLSOI~~. .l‘tw sometimes di\c,rinliri~ltor~ and unethical r1atur.e of official pur~ishment for crimes against IllC~
puq’k.
iliil)iopcr 4!\tem ctarnagc
is IIO justification lor its entire elimination. 1) administered systems of pm~ialimrnt aho~1ld
abolished. Do we totally eliminate suits, etc.2 If so, ho\v is c~ommunity
lx
Rather, the inadequatel~~ OI correcttdd, aild not thcz cntirt
fines. lNobation, parole. impi~isonment, ( ivil oiganiLation and stability to be maintained?
Finall), the I-clationshil) 01 pu~~ishmt~nt to the function and purposr of law is not adcquatc~ly dealt with in this text. ,Should we t1ai.e laws? If so how arc sue-h enf’or-t (XI? LVhat foims of pmlishments should tw in1Imac.d for those who knotvingl) violate SW h? Certainl> the root causes of deviancy should be rcmo\,ed, and if that should OCCLII, punishmrnt lvill bet ome a moot question. In the meantime, what sanctions should be imposed on those who transgrrss upon rights of others, and how should such sanctions be properly administered? .l‘his text is ~ecommcnd~f for studc.nts of criminal justice, and thosr interested in tht cau\c’s and c mes of dc\.iant behavior
William
Nar-dini Chairman ot Criminology State liniversit)
Department Indiana Terre
The
Juvenile
W.H. 45201),
Offender
Anderson
and the Law by Paul
Company
(646
Main
Street,
Haute,
Indiana
H. Hahn. P.O.
Box
1576,
Cincinnati,
Ohio
1971, 416 pp., hardcover.
Any writer who is preparing a text for police officers starts with a decided handicap which those who prepare texts for college and graduate students usually do not have. The handicap is the diversity in backgrounds presented by America’s constabulary. In some areas, especially urban centers, police officers are highly paid, and career ladders to executive posltlons are available; however, in many areas these pay scales and opportunities are less attractive. The result is that one police force may attract college graduates while others
hire officers
who bring
less academic
training
to the job.
It is extremely hard for a writer to put together a text that will meet the needs of such a diverse group. Mr. Hahn has taken the middle ground. As a result, the text may be too sophisticated for some and not challenging enough for others. All in all, however, it does
BOOK REVIEWS
description scale, and their assumption throughout the book that correlation implies causation. Finally, we must look at the value judgements of the authors which reflect a zeitgeisl long past. While patriarchal homes stressing traditional religious values may be appropriate for some, functionally it is not for many. We may rhapsodize and place high values on this elusive and iridescent dream, but it is a naive, unrealistic view upon which to base ameliorative measures. The life style, values, and reality of many differ. It is incumbent upon us to divest ourselves of ethnocentricity, and to accept differences. This book may have limited appeal to those seeking immediate and concrete solutions, but it is highly unlikely that this book will be generally adopted as a text in universities or generate much serious research.
Department
Philosophical
Perspectives
On Punishment
David R. Walters Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Wisconsin
edited by Gertrude Ezorsky.
State University of New York Press (99 Washington 12210), 1972, 365 pp., paperback.
Ave., Albany,
New York,
This publication is a book of readings, with a ten-page introductory essay by editor Ezorsky, dealing with the matter of punishment from a philosophical point of view. Some forty-two brief essays are presented and categorized within five logical chapters titled as follows: (1) Concepts of Punishment, (2) The Justification of Punishment, (3) Strict Liability, (4) The Death Penalty, and (5) Alternatives to Punishment. Ezorsky, in her introductory essay on the “Ethics of Punishment,” has classified the various philosophical articles as teleological, retributivist, and teleological retributivist, and attempts a most difficult task of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis of the divergent viewpoints of such outstanding philosopher-scholars as Thomas Hobbes, Plato, Jeremy Bentham, Immanual Kant, G.W.F. Itegel, St. Thomas Acquinas, John Stuart Mill and other more contemporary philosophers, practitioners and governmental officials. This text is well suited for a graduate seminar in criminology, criminal justice and the philosophy of the law, as well as for other relevant post-graduate studies. The value of this text of readings is the bringing together in one volume the various historical and contemporary philosophical views of punishment. Certainly the subject is most timely given the current interest in the system of crime, delinquency, and the administration of justice. However, it is this reviewer’s feelings that the text would have been of greater value and readability if each of the five chapters had been proceeded by an introductory and analytical review of the articles regarding each chapter’s topical heading, plus a concluding
essay bringing to,gether in a summat-); fashion matter of punishment in human affairs.
the various points
of views as they relate to the
One of lhe major inadequacies of this text is the failure to specifically defirir 1)unishmcnt. <:haptei \’ is titled “Alternativr to Punishment,” and an article by Bernard Shaw on ~‘Imprisonmerit” ih includ&. Imprisomncnt is not an alternative to punishment, it ia a primary form of put~ishment for criminal behavior in our society. Additionally, there is a tic‘aq ~~tiilosol~hic~~11emphasi\ on the ineffec.tivcness of punishment, but once again, punishmc~nt is lleithci clearly defined nor- ia it pointed out that some for-m\ of scnsibl(, s;mction\ sic’ esacntial in the condut t of human affairs for rather obvious WLSOI~~. .l‘tw sometimes di\c,rinliri~ltor~ and unethical r1atur.e of official pur~ishment for crimes against IllC~
puq’k.
iliil)iopcr 4!\tem ctarnagc
is IIO justification lor its entire elimination. 1) administered systems of pm~ialimrnt aho~1ld
abolished. Do we totally eliminate suits, etc.2 If so, ho\v is c~ommunity
lx
Rather, the inadequatel~~ OI correcttdd, aild not thcz cntirt
fines. lNobation, parole. impi~isonment, ( ivil oiganiLation and stability to be maintained?
Finall), the I-clationshil) 01 pu~~ishmt~nt to the function and purposr of law is not adcquatc~ly dealt with in this text. ,Should we t1ai.e laws? If so how arc sue-h enf’or-t (XI? LVhat foims of pmlishments should tw in1Imac.d for those who knotvingl) violate SW h? Certainl> the root causes of deviancy should be rcmo\,ed, and if that should OCCLII, punishmrnt lvill bet ome a moot question. In the meantime, what sanctions should be imposed on those who transgrrss upon rights of others, and how should such sanctions be properly administered? .l‘his text is ~ecommcnd~f for studc.nts of criminal justice, and thosr interested in tht cau\c’s and c mes of dc\.iant behavior
William
Nar-dini Chairman ot Criminology State liniversit)
Department Indiana Terre
The
Juvenile
W.H. 45201),
Offender
Anderson
and the Law by Paul
Company
(646
Main
Street,
Haute,
Indiana
H. Hahn. P.O.
Box
1576,
Cincinnati,
Ohio
1971, 416 pp., hardcover.
Any writer who is preparing a text for police officers starts with a decided handicap which those who prepare texts for college and graduate students usually do not have. The handicap is the diversity in backgrounds presented by America’s constabulary. In some areas, especially urban centers, police officers are highly paid, and career ladders to executive posltlons are available; however, in many areas these pay scales and opportunities are less attractive. The result is that one police force may attract college graduates while others
hire officers
who bring
less academic
training
to the job.
It is extremely hard for a writer to put together a text that will meet the needs of such a diverse group. Mr. Hahn has taken the middle ground. As a result, the text may be too sophisticated for some and not challenging enough for others. All in all, however, it does