Punishment and Retaliation

Retaliation and punishment are some of the core themes involved in researching acts of violence among ancient cultures. In these cultures the killing of a family member by an individual may result in either the killing of the original murderer or the killing of one of their family members in retaliation. Often, this is deemed as a justified reaction. Even today the punishing of someone due to wrongdoing is often believed to be justified. The existence of the death penalty in the United States is proof of such a mentality. Fiery Cushman a psychologist interested in comprehending the cognitive processes that lead to the development and creation of moral judgments believes that such a mentality is weak minded. Research by Cushman shows that he rejects the idea that such a mentality is correct and that the punishment of someone for acting wrongly should not be seen as justifiable. Cushman’s research compares belief, desire, causation, and consequence in identifying moral choices. Cushman’s research also seemed to conclude that choices and decisions on the wrongfulness of action tended to rely on the mental states of the individual. Yet, judgments of punishment tended to rely on painful consequence. Cushman’s overall conclusion based on the results of his research was that punishment due to wrongdoing should not be justified.

Cushman uses a number of examples that involve the human thought processes in his study. He determines that the choices made by humans often depends on how they feel about a certain actions. Cushman identified a specific area in the human mind where people’s decisions differentiate between non-action and action. Cushman believes that the mind does observe that there may be similarities between wrongdoings. Yet, t...

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...ways justified. That decisions about the kind of punishment differs according to the outcome of the wrongdoing activity. If the wrongdoing does not end up being harmful then no punishment might be the accepted chosen judgment. Cushman even goes as far as claiming that rewards and reciprocation may be better suited for society over that of punishment. Through analyzing his research it can be seen that Cushman has relevant points on punishment that are more than adequate for discussion.

Works Cited

Cushman, F. The Role of Learning in Punishment, Prosociality, and Human

Uniqueness. In Kim Sterelny, Richard Joyce, Brett Calcott & Ben Fraser (eds.), (2013): 1-21. Print. Cooperation and its Evolution. MIT Press

Cushman, F. "Crime and Punishment: Distinguishing the Roles of Causal and

Intentional Analyses in Moral Judgment." Cognition 108.2 (2008): 353-80. Print.