Seria Adam Smith um retributivista penal?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20873/rpv10n1-39Keywords:
Mérito, Culpa, Proporcionalidade, Estabilidade social, Espectador imparcialAbstract
Based on The Theory of Moral Sentiments, the objective of this research is to understand why some commentators, such as Haakonssen and Stalley, classify Adam Smith as a penal retributivist, and to evaluate the relevance of this classification. To this end, we will briefly revisit the retributivist conception of punishment and present, from these commentators' perspectives, the proposal found in Smith's text. We will then examine the preventivist justification to draw a parallel with the Scottish philosopher's theory. The need for this comparison arises due to the presence of concepts such as stability and social security, which, when combined with notions of merit, guilt, and proportionality, seem to indicate a hybrid theory of justification. We will conclude that the commentators' classification is partially mistaken, as Smith's proposal exhibits a conciliatory stance between classical theories of justification.
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