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].!
!
*

! 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.!

94

Universality of Punishment!

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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