Libertarianism Allows Retributive Restitution (Which Is Optimally Deterring): A Reply to Joseph Ellin’s ‘Restitution Not Retributive: A Mini-Paper’

A Retributive Theory of the Pardoning Power?

Psychological Aspects of Retributive Justice

Retributive justice is a system by which offenders are punished in proportion to the moral magnitude of their intentionally committed harms. This chapter lays out the emerging psychological principles that underlie citizens’ intuitions regarding punishment. We rely on experimental methods and conclude that intuitions of justice are broadly consistent with the principles of retributive justice, ...

Libertarianism and Legitimacy : a Reply to Huebert

IT IS OBVIOUS FROM his review of my book that J.H. Huebert holds me in genuine high esteem. This saddens him all the more for, in his view, I have squandered my talents on so unworthy a topic as Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty, which he characterizes as “an unfortunate waste of talent for a powerful mind such as Randy Barnett’s” (p. 108). While there is much that I d...

Coefficient of restitution does not exceed unity

The well-known statement in the title is proved (with a small but necessary correction) for a ball reflected by a non-deformable wall. The ball is modeled as a collection of classical particles bound together by an arbitrary potential, and its internal degrees of freedom are initially set to be in thermal equilibrium. The wall is represented by an arbitrary potential which is translation invari...

The psychology of compensatory and retributive justice.

How do observers respond when the actions of one individual inflict harm on another? The primary reaction to carelessly inflicted harm is to seek restitution; the offender is judged to owe compensation to the harmed individual. The primary reaction to harm inflicted intentionally is moral outrage producing a desire for retribution; the harm-doer must be punished. Reckless conduct, an intermedia...