Jeffrie Murphy

Oxford University Press has published a new book, Retributivism: Essays on Theory and Policy, which contains a chapter penned by Jeffrie Murphy, ASU Regents’ Professor of Law, Philosophy & Religious Studies.

Murphy is well known for his defense of the retributive theory of punishment -- the theory that punishment is primarily justified not by its social consequences, but rather simply to give wrongdoers the suffering that they deserve because of the evil of what they have done and who they are. The new essay, “Some Second Thoughts on Retributivism,” reveals a softening of Murphy’s view and expresses skepticism of some of the more extreme versions of the view that he once defended.

The book is edited by Mark D. White, a Professor in the Department of Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island, The City University of New York, and was published in March by Oxford University Press.

To read Murphy’s article, click here.

Murphy’s primary teaching and research areas are philosophy of law and jurisprudence, criminal law, ethics and religion, moral philosophy (including moral psychology), philosophy in literature/law and literature, and Kant’s moral, political and legal philosophy. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the theory of punishment, forgiveness and mercy, and the moral emotions.