Matthew C. Altman is Professor of Philosophy at Central Washington University, USA. His most recent monograph is A Theory of Legal Punishment: Deterrence, Retribution, and the Aims of the State (2021). He is also series editor of Palgrave Handbooks in the Philosophy of Law.

Discusses the history of punishment theory and the major proposed justifications of punishment

Includes newly commissioned chapters from many of the field's leading scholars

Provides an essential resource for anyone who wants to understand the current state of discipline

1. Introduction: Punishment, Its Meaning and Justification; Matthew C. Altman.- Part I: Philosophic History of Punishment Theory.- 2. The Philosophy of Punishment and the Arc of Penal Reform: From Ancient Lawgivers to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, and through the Nineteenth Century; John D. Bessler.- 3. A Return to Hobbes: Reflections on Legal Positivism and the Point of Punishment; Margaret Martin.- 4. Is Crime Caused by Illness, Immorality, or Injustice? Theories of Punishment from 1900 to Today; Amelia M. Wirts.- Part II: Retributivism, Consequentialism, and Mixed Theories.- 5. Relational Conceptions of Retribution; Leora Dahan Katz - 6. Doubts about Retribution: Is Punishment Non-Instrumentally Good or Right?; Isaac Wiegman.- 7. Consequentialist Theories of Punishment; Hsin-Wen Lee.- 8. Rethinking Four Criticisms of Consequentialist Theories of Punishment; Christopher Bennett.- 9. In Defense of a Mixed Theory of Punishment; Matthew C. Altman.- 10. Rethinking Mixed Justifications; Leo Zaibert.- Part III: Beyond the Traditional Approaches.- 11. Expressive Theories of Punishment; Bill Wringe.- 12. Justifying Criminal Punishment as Societal-Defense; Phillip Montague.- 13. Fair Play Theories of Punishment; Göran Duus-Otterström.- 14. The Rights-Forfeiture Theory of Punishment; Whitley Kaufman.-Part IV: Punishment in the Political Context.- 15. Criminal Justice and the Liberal State; Matt Matravers.- 16. From the Philosophy of Punishment to the Philosophy of Criminal Justice; Javier Wilenmann and Vincent Chiao.- 17. Beware of Prosecutors Bearing Gifts: How the Ancient Greeks Can Help Cure Our Addiction to Excessive Punishment; Clark M. Neily III and Chris W. Surprenant.-Part V: Proportionality and Sentencing.- 18. Proportionality Collapses: The Search for an Adequate Equation for Proportionality; Stephen Kershnar.- 19. Sentencing Pluralism; Douglas Husak.- Part VI: Neuroscience, Determinism, andFree Will Skepticism.- 20. The Impact of Neuromorality on Punishment: Retribution or Rehabilitation?; Sandy Xie, Colleen M. Berryessa, and Farah Focquaert.- 21. Punishment without Blame, Shame, or Just Deserts; Bruce N. Waller.- 22. Retributivism, Free Will, and the Public Health-Quarantine Model; Gregg D. Caruso.- 23. Do Rapists Deserve Criminal Treatment?; Katrina L. Sifferd.- 24. Free Will Skepticism and Criminals as Ends in Themselves; Benjamin Vilhauer.- Part VII: Abolitionism.- 25. Against Legal Punishment; Nathan Hanna.- 26. The Abolition of Punishment; Michael Davis.- Part VIII: Forgiveness and Restoration.- 27. Punishment and Forgiveness; John Kleinig.- 28. Restorative Justice, Punishment, and the Law; Lode Walgrave.- 29. Punitive Restoration; Thom Brooks.-Part IX: Applications.- 30. Mass Incarceration as Distributive Injustice; Benjamin Ewing.- 31. Blaming Kids; Craig K. Agule.- 32. Punitive Torture; Peter Brian Barry.- 33. The Justiceof Capital Punishment; Edward Feser.- 34. The Impermissibility of Execution; Benjamin S. Yost.- 35. Cruel and Unusual Punishment; Chad Flanders.