도덕촉구로서의 형벌

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Punishment as Moral Urge

Young-Lok Lee


In this article, I try to show that when punishment is understood as moral urge, it is best justified. Punishment as moral urge conveys the message to the wrongdoer that his act was wrong, and urges him to consider its wrongness seriously, hoping that he will repent morally.
It implies that the moral urge theory presupposes moral autonomy of human being. The theory shares in the merits with retribution theory in that respect. Moreover, it naturally demands that punishment itself should be inflicted in accordance with morality. It enables the theory to resolve the difficulties undergone in criminal practices better than other punishment theories including theories of both retribution and prevention.
Critics might say that the theory can not explain the rationale of the capital punishment, for the reason that it makes the repentance of the criminal meaningless. But expanding the object of moral urge to victims and people, the theory can be compatible with capital punishment in principle, regardless of whether or not the capital punishment is desirable practically.