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61Forgiveness and MercyCambridge University Press. 1988.This book focuses on the degree to which certain moral and legal doctrines are rooted in specific passions that are then institutionalised in the form of criminal law. A philosophical analysis is developed of the following questions: when, if ever, should hatred be overcome by sympathy or compassion? What are forgiveness and mercy and to what degree do they require - both conceptually and morally - the overcoming of certain passions and the motivation by other passions? If forgiveness and mercy …Read more
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25Review of William Ian Miller, Eye for an Eye (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2006 (7). 2006.
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83A paradox in Locke's Theory of Natural RightsDialogue 8 (2): 256-271. 1969.There are certain recurring objections to Locke's theory of legitimate government and the conception of natural rights on which it is based. These objections generally take the form of showing that most of Locke's claims in the Second Treatise stand largely as ad hoc assertions, defended—if at all—not by philosophical argumentation but by appeals to theology or intuition. These criticisms might be called external criticisms of Locke's theory because they focus, not upon the coherence of the theo…Read more
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Legal Moralism and Retribution RevisitedProceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 80 (2): 45-62. 2006.
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10Happiness and immoralityIn Exploring ethics: an introductory anthology, Oxford University Press. 2009.
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76Kant’s Concept of a Right ActionThe Monist 51 (4): 574-598. 1967.Introduction. For the most part, Kant’s moral philosophy is no longer taught. What is taught instead is a parody of Kant’s moral philosophy. His views, generally used as a foil for some other view like utilitarianism, are summed up in a few popular cliches which have achieved the status of interpretive dogma. Small wonder that undergraduates go away thinking that Kant is, at worst, a moral fanatic or, at best, a well-intentioned bungler who allowed his right-wing political views and Pietist upbr…Read more
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2The Justice of EconomicsPhilosophical Topics 14 (2): 195-210. 1986.A critique of Richard Posner's suggestion that notions of economic efficiency can serve as ethical foundations.
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59[Book review] forgiveness and mercy (review)Ethics 100 (2): 413-415. 1990.This book focuses on the degree to which certain moral and legal doctrines are rooted in specific passions that are then institutionalised in the form of criminal law. A philosophical analysis is developed of the following questions: when, if ever, should hatred be overcome by sympathy or compassion? What are forgiveness and mercy and to what degree do they require - both conceptually and morally - the overcoming of certain passions and the motivation by other passions? If forgiveness and mercy …Read more
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42A Failed Refutation and an Insufficiently Developed Insight in Hart’s Law, Liberty, and MoralityCriminal Law and Philosophy 7 (3): 419-434. 2013.H. L. A. Hart, in his classic book Law, Liberty, and Morality, is unsuccessful in arguing that James Fitzjames Stephen’s observations about the role of vice in criminal sentencing have no relevance to a more general defense of legal moralism. He does, however, have a very important insight about the special significance of sexual liberty
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90Jean Hampton on immorality, self-hatred, and self-forgivenessPhilosophical Studies 89 (2-3): 215-236. 1998.
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65Getting Even: Forgiveness and its LimitsOup Usa. 2003.We have all been victims of wrongdoing. Forgiving that wrongdoing is one of the staples of current pop psychology dogma; it is seen as a universal prescription for moral and mental health in the self-help and recovery section of bookstores. At the same time, personal vindictiveness as a rule is seen as irrational and immoral. In many ways, our thinking on these issues is deeply inconsistent; we value forgiveness yet at the same time now use victim-impact statements to argue for harsher penalties…Read more
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76BlackmailThe Monist 63 (2): 156-171. 1980.Most of us are inclined to believe that blackmail is clearly immoral and are thus quite content that it be criminalized. Justifying this belief, however, turns out to be more of a problem than it might at first seem. In particular, it is difficult if not impossible to distinguish cases of blackmail from other hard economic transactions.
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17Religious Conviction and Political Advocacy (A Commentary on Quinn)Modern Schoolman 78 (2-3): 125-134. 2001.
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100Mercy and Legal JusticeSocial Philosophy and Policy 4 (1): 1-14. 1986.Internal and External Questions. The most profound questions in ethics, social philosophy, and the philosophy of law are foundational; i.e., they are questions that call the entire framework of our ordinary evaluations into doubt in order to determine to what degree, if at all, that framework can be rationally defended. Such questions, called “external” by Rudolf Carnap, are currently dominating my own philosophical reflections and are forcing me to rethink a variety of positions I have in the p…Read more
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45Kalin on the categorical imperativeEthics 79 (2): 163-164. 1969.The article is a critical reply to jesse kalin's "a note on singer and kant" ("ethics", 1968). Kalin had argued that kant's categorical imperative entails absurdly counterintuitive consequences--E.G. That it is wrong to punish people. Against kalin, It is argued that such consequences are not entailed by the categorical imperative if it is properly interpreted. A proper interpretation involves, For example, Distinguishing the categorical imperative's function as a criterion for imperfect duties …Read more
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49“In the Penal Colony” and Why I Am Now Reluctant to Teach Criminal LawCriminal Justice Ethics 33 (2): 72-82. 2014.This article discusses the way in which substantive criminal law is generally taught in United States law schools and argues that more room should be given in these courses to familiarize students with the horrendous nature of much of our criminal law system—in particular the terrible conditions faced by most prison inmates after conviction.
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118The Killing of the InnocentThe Monist 57 (4): 527-550. 1973.Introduction. Murder, some may suggest, is to be defined as the intentional and uncoerced killing of the innocent; and it is true by definition that murder is wrong. Yet wars, particularly modern wars, seem to require the killing of the innocent, e.g. through anti-morale terror bombing. Therefore war must be wrong.
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Arizona State UniversityRegular Faculty
Tempe, Arizona, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Normative Ethics |
Philosophy of Law |