Pure Retributivism and the Problem of Psychopathy: A Preliminary Investigation / Retributivismo Puro e o Problema da Psicopatia: Uma Investigação Preliminar

Autores

  • Thomas Nadelhoffer College of Charleston, Charleston - SC, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17808/des.47.603

Palavras-chave:

Retributivism, Philosophy of punishment, Psychopathy

Resumo

Abstract: My present goal is to explore some possible responses pure (or strict) retributivists might have to the gathering of empirical data on psychopaths. In addressing this issue, I will first briefly examine the strides researchers have recently made in understanding the nature of psychopathy, paying particular attention to work on the neural and genetic components of the disorder (§1). Then, I will survey several ways that a pure retributivist might respond to this data (including giving up on pure retributivism altogether and adopting instead a mixed theory of punishment that incorporates both forward-looking and backward-looking elements). (§2). As we will see, the retributivist has a fairly limited range of appealing options in this context. But my primary task here isn't to somehow refute retributivism (which comes in too many varieties to adequately address in a single paper). Rather, I am mainly interested in showing that the problem of psychopathy is relevant when it comes to our philosophical theorizing about punishment. In this sense, my over-arching task is methodological. I survey the interdisciplinary terrain and highlight some interesting and important connections between the research on the philosophy and the psychology of psychopathy.

Keywords: Retributivism; Philosophy of punishment; Psychopathy


Resumo: O objetivo deste artigo é explorar possíveis respostas que retributivistas puros podem ter à coleta de dados empíricos sobre psicopatas. Ao tratar deste assunto, primeiro examinarei brevemente os recentes avanços de pesquisadores em relação ao entendimento da natureza da psicopatia, dando atenção especial ao trabalho acerca dos components neurais e genéticos da doença (§1). Após, demonstrarei diversas maneiras pelas quais um retributivista puro poderia enfrentar essas novas questões (incluindo desistir do retributivismo puro para adotar uma teoria punitiva mista que incorpora ambos elementos voltados para o futuro quanto para o passado) (§2). Como veremos, o retributivista tem uma gama bastante limitada de opções que sejam atraentes neste contexto. Mas a minha tarefa primordial não é a de refutar o retributivismo (que vem em variedades muito numerosas para serem trabalhadas em um único artigo). Em vez disso, estou preocupado em demonstrar que o problema da psicopatia é relevante quando pensamos sobre a nossa teorização filosófica acerca da punição. Nesse sentido, minha tarefa é metodológica. Eu avalio o terreno interdisciplinar e enfatizo algumas conexões importantes e interessantes entre a pesquisa na filosofia e na psicologia da psicopatia.

Palavras-chave: Retributivismo; Filosofia da punição; Psicopatia

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2016-02-22

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Nadelhoffer, T. (2016). Pure Retributivism and the Problem of Psychopathy: A Preliminary Investigation / Retributivismo Puro e o Problema da Psicopatia: Uma Investigação Preliminar. Revista Direito, Estado E Sociedade, (47). https://doi.org/10.17808/des.47.603

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