(January 9, 2022 at 2:36 pm)Klorophyll Wrote: If an omniscient being threatens us with hell we simply have to bow our head humbly and follow His rules, instead of trying to come up with some contrived objection using our tiny little frontal lobe.
Let me know when an omniscient being actually shows up, Klorophyll. (Hint: Stories about omniscient beings don't count.)
Quote:What's your criteria for humane punishments? Throwing someone in jail isn't punishment, it's just putting them with like-minded individuals [sic], it doesn't really discourage one from stealing, unlike cutting off hands.
Loss of one's freedom is indeed punishment. Forcing a thief to pay restitution for the theft is better, in my opinion.
Quote:Yes, cutting off one's hands is harsh and horrible. But isn't a proper punishment supposed to be horrible?
No, no, a thousand times no. To think in terms like "must be horrible" is to succumb to childish, primitive and simplistic ideas of justice that do vastly more harm than good.
A proper punishment is one that corrects the problem in the simplest way possible without causing other problems. A man deprived of one or both hands becomes a burden upon society because he can no longer work. The goal of rehabilitation and restitution has been abandoned in favour of atavistic bloodlust, the very antithesis of justice.
