to continue my unlikely string of updates, i thought i'd share a few thoughts on the moussaoui trial, which serena and i hear about every morning on the way to work
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Hear hear...when you kill a criminal, he's not around to know that his life is forfeit. This is a big reason why I'm excited to attend Cornell, and I hope to participate as soon as humanly possible.
I am woefully underknowledged about the death penalty, and I have not devoted very much philosophical thought to it either. It seems reasonable on the face, at least, that state-sanctioned execution is first and foremost a tool of revenge and that it is perhaps not appropriate for the state to sanction revenge for its own sake.
However, I think you are overreaching the bounds of what can be reasonably claimed without debate when you summarily dismiss the desire for vengeance as base and worthless. In addition to ignoring the obvious deterrent effect of this instinct, you are essentially telling victims of all wrongs everywhere that they grieve Improperly if they seek retribution. "why vengeance when we are capable of acceptance?" is a moral judgement analogous to "why birth control when we are capable of abstinence?"
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However, I think you are overreaching the bounds of what can be reasonably claimed without debate when you summarily dismiss the desire for vengeance as base and worthless. In addition to ignoring the obvious deterrent effect of this instinct, you are essentially telling victims of all wrongs everywhere that they grieve Improperly if they seek retribution. "why vengeance when we are capable of acceptance?" is a moral judgement analogous to "why birth control when we are capable of abstinence?"
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