Marek Piechowiak 73

Marek Piechowiak

Plato s!Conception!of!Punitive!Justice*!

1. Preliminary remarks

!Plato s! conception! of! punishment! will! be! analyzed! here!

primarily! from! the! perspective! of! the! aims! of! punishment.! On!the! one! hand,! this! perspective! will! make! it! possible! to! situate!Plato s! concept! within! the! context! of! the! main! rationales!articulated!today!for!punishment!"!the!concepts!of!retribution!and!prevention;! on! the! other,! it! will! allow! us! to! raise! one! of! the!fundamental! questions! tied! to! Plato s! concepts! of! law! and! the!state! "! the! question! of! totalitarianism:! does! punishment,! as!decreed!by! law!and!executed!by! the! state,!have!as! its! foremost!aim!the!good!of!the!state,!or!that!of!the!individual?!

Two!principle!aims!of!punishment!are!traditionally!distinguished!"! that! of! retribution,! the! price! paid! for! committing! evil! "! and!prevention!of!crimes!from!being!committed,!and,! thus,!protection!of!values!acknowledged!by!the!legal!system.!

Just!retribution!exists!when!the!punishment!suits!the!crime,!that! is,! when! it! is! proportionate! to! the! crime! committed! "! in!accordance!with!the!rule:!the!more!serious!the!offence,!the!more!serious!the!punishment.!The!rational!acceptance!of!retribution!as!the! aim! of! punishment! requires! an! answer! to! the! question! of!retribution s!aim.!One!might!consider!the!primary!aim!to!be!the!restoration! of! a! certain! order! "! that! of! morality! or! justice! "!which! was! violated! by! the! perpetrator.! Such! an! argument! is!independent! of! all! considerations! of! a! utilitarian! nature! "! Fiat iustitia, pereat mundus et ruat caelum! [Let! justice! be! done!though!the!world!perish!and!though!the!heavens!fall].!

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*! This! contribution!was! financed!with! funds! from! the!National!Science!Centre!(Poland)!allocated!on!the!basis!of!the!decision!number!DEC-2013/09/B/HS5/04232.!

Marek Piechowiak 93

to!the!damage!done,!until!the!loss!is!made!good;!and,!in!addition!to!this,!every!man!shall!pay!the!penalty!which!is!attached!to!his!crime!by!way!of!corrective.$

79!When!the!problem!of!punishment!

is!expanded!to!include!the!dimension!of!compensating!the!victim,!Plato! does! not! discard! the! perspective! of! the! individual,! whose!good!constitutes!the!reason!for!punishment.!

Sometimes!compensation!can!surpass!the!inflicted!damages.!This!is!so,!for!example,!in!the!case!of!harm!inflicted!on!orphans,!who! "! finding! themselves! in! an! inferior! situation! to! others! in!society!"!deserve!exceptional!care.

80!An!orphan s!caretaker!who!

is!accused!of!not!caring!for!or!harming!the!child,!if!found!guilty,!#shall!pay!four!times!the!damages!assessed,!and!of!this!amount!one! half! shall! go! to! the! child,! the! other! half! to! the! successful!prosecutor.$

81!

The!measure!of!compensation!is!determined,!in!part,!by!the!particular! situation! of! the! victim! and! the! resulting! additional!difficulties! in! his! or! her! development,! in! the! surmounting! of!which,!compensation!may!be!of!help;!nonetheless!the!element!of!specific! and! general! prevention! is! also! present! "! higher!compensation!is!an!additional!burden!for!the!culprit,!which!may!aid!in!his!improvement,!and!also!serves!as!a!warning!to!others.!!

9. Concluding remarks

!In! Plato s! conception! of! punishment! one! can! discern! the!

elements!of! specific!as!well!as!general!prevention.! In! the!case!of!specific!prevention,!foremost!is!the!positive!element!"!punishment!is! a! form! of! medicine! which! returns! justice! to! the! soul.! The!justice! of! actions! is! secondary! to! the! state! of! the! soul:! a! just!individual!will! act! justly.!General!prevention! is! also! taken! into!consideration! by! Plato,! especially! in! regard! to! the! heaviest!

!

79!Plato,! (R.! G.! Bury! (tr.)),! Laws,! 933e"934a;! see! also! 934b! and! E.B.!England s! notes! related! to! #! ! $! (934b! 6),! Plato,! (E.B.!England!(ed.)), The Laws of Plato,!1921,!p.!558.!!

80!Plato,!Laws,!927e"928a.!81 Ibid.,!928b"c.!

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offenses,!and! is!based!on! the!deterrent! function!of!punishment,!especially! eternal,! everlasting! punishment;! the! negative! aspect!of!general!prevention!is!thus!the!primary!focus.!!

Nonetheless,! the! analysis! here! demonstrates! that! for! Plato!the! principal! aim! of! punishment! is! not! the! defence! of! values!acknowledged!by!the!legal!system,!but!the!good!of!the!individual!"!his!personal!development,!which!is,!first!of!all,!moral!development,!consisting! of! the! attainment! of! the! greatest! "! situated! on! the!level!of!existence!"!excellence!of!the!subject,!which!is!the!virtue!of! justice,! an! inner! unity! based! on! inner! regularity,! order,!harmony!and!straightness.!Attainment!of!the!virtue!of!justice!is!likewise! the! attainment! of! happiness.! In! principle,! punishment!ought!to!be!adapted!and!proportionate!not!to!the!act!committed,!but!to!the!state!of!the!subject,!the!state!of!his!soul.!It!should!be!appropriate! medicine,! returning! health! to! the! soul,! restoring!inner!order,!harmony!and!straightness.!!

The!elements!of!a!retributive!concept!of!punishment!become!salient!above!all!in!the!case!of!the!most!hardened!criminals,!who!are! internally! so! spoiled! that! no! amelioration! is! possible,! no!punishment! can! be! a! suitable,! sufficient! medicine.! Yet,! the!punishment!is!deserved,!proportional!to!the!degree!of!depravity!of!the!offender,!and!thus!possesses!a!deterrent!value.!Moreover,!the! suffering! of! the! offender,! since! it! is! beneficial! for! others,!contributes!to!his!inner!unity!and!his!goodness.!!

The! preceding! analysis! concerning! Plato s! conception! of!punishment!clearly!shows!that!the!aim!of!punishment!is!not!the!good!of! the!state,!nor! the!abstractly!conceived!order!of! justice.!The! aims! of! punishment! are! not! located! beyond! the! individual!(the! individual!soul).!Therefore,! in! this!conception!of!punishment!there!are!no!elements!of! thinking!typical!of! that! in!the!spirit!of!totalitarianism.! The! law! and! the! state! serve! the! good! of! the!individual.! This! is! an! important! argument! on! behalf! of! the!postulate!of!a!non-totalitarian!interpretation!of!the!Republic!and!the!others!dialogs!of!Plato.!!!

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Universality!of!Punishment!!

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