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Against the background of early modernism - a period that justified punishment by general deterrence - Kant is usually thought to represent a radical turn towards retributivism. For Kant, and later for Fichte and Hegel, a just punishment respects the humanity inherent in the criminal, and serves no external ends - it is instituted only because the criminal deserves it. In this original study, Jean-Christophe Merle uses close analysis of texts to show that these philosophers did not in fact hold a retributivist position, or even a mixed position; instead he traces in their work the gradual emergence of views in favour of deterrence and resocialisation. He also examines Nietzsche's view that morality rests on the rejection of retribution. His final chapter offers a challenge to the retributivist position, and a defence of resocialisation, in the context of current legal theory and practice concerning the punishment of crimes against humanity.
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This page intentionally left blank GERMAN IDEALISM AND THE CONCEPT OF PUNISHMENT Against the background of early modernism – a period that justified punishment by general deterrence – Kant is usually thought to represent a radical turn toward retributivism. For Kant, and later for Fichte and Hegel, a just punishment respects the humanity inherent in the criminal, and serves no external ends: it is instituted only because the criminal deserves it. In this original study, Jean-Christophe Merle uses close analysis of texts to show that these philosophers did not in fact hold a retributivist position, or even a mixed position; instead he traces in their work the gradual emergence of views in favor of deterrence and resocialization. He also examines Nietzsche’s view that morality rests on the rejection of retribution. His final chapter offers a challenge to the retributivist position, and a defense of resocialization, in the context of current legal theory and practice concerning the punishment of crimes against humanity. j e a n - ch r i s t o p h e m e r l e is a senior researcher in philosophy at the University of Tours, an Honorary Professor at the University of Saarland, and a lecturer at the University of Tu¨bingen. MODERN EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHY General Editor ROBERT B. PIPPIN, University of Chicago Advisory Board GARY GUTTING, University of Notre Dame ROLF-PETER HORSTMANN, Humboldt University, Berlin Some recent titles Daniel W. Conway: Nietzsche’s Dangerous Game John P. McCormick: Carl Schmitt’s Critique of Liberalism Frederick A. Olafson: Heidegger and the Ground of Ethics Gu¨nter Zo¨ller: Fichte’s Transcendental Philosophy Warren Breckman: Marx, the Young Hegelians, and the Origins of Radical Social Theory William Blattner: Heidegger’s Temporal Idealism Charles Griswold: Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment Gary Gutting: Pragmatic Liberalism and the Critique of Modernity Allen Wood: Kant’s Ethical Thought Karl Ameriks: Kant and the Fate of Autonomy Alfredo Ferrarin: Hegel and Aristotle Cristina Lafont: Heidegger, Language, and World-Disclosure Nicholas Wolsterstorff: Thomas Reid and the Story of Epistemology Daniel Dahlstrom: Heidegger’s Concept of Truth Michelle Grier: Kant’s Doctrine of Transcendental Illusion Henry Allison: Kant’s Theory of Taste Allen Speight: Hegel, Literature, and the Problem of Agency J. M. Bernstein: Adorno Will Dudley: Hegel, Nietzsche, and Philosophy Taylor Carman: Heidegger’s Analytic Douglas Moggach: The Philosophy and Politics of Bruno Bauer Ru¨diger Bubner: The Innovations of Idealism Jon Stewart: Kierkegaard’s Relations to Hegel Reconsidered Michael Quante: Hegel’s Concept of Action Wolfgang Detel: Foucault and Classical Antiquity Robert M. Wallace: Hegel’s Philosophy of Reality, Freedom, and God Johanna Oksala: Foucault on Freedom Be´atrice Longuenesse: Kant on the Human Standpoint Wayne Martin: Theorie