This was super interesting and admirably concise work; I feel sort of like Neo getting stuff downloaded into his brain when I read posts like this (your work offers that frequently).
Thoughtful and thought provoking piece. I get his point about death versus a truly unpleasant life. Does it ring true in today's world? I'm not sure that 'life imprisonment' is the horror now that it was then, or that the loss of freedom means the same, which tempers his argument a little. Perhaps. I like to think I am totally against capital punishment, but find myself momentarily wavering when the latest horrific serious crime hits the headlines. Then I settle back into complacent liberalism. It's a hard thing to talk about, thank you for approaching it through JSM.
Many people, including me, oppose the death penalty because of the risk of a flawed verdict and no possibility of reversal. Wondering if that was something Mill considered. Or whether it was a relevant issue at all during Mill's lifetime.
This was super interesting and admirably concise work; I feel sort of like Neo getting stuff downloaded into his brain when I read posts like this (your work offers that frequently).
Ah I’m so glad
Thoughtful and thought provoking piece. I get his point about death versus a truly unpleasant life. Does it ring true in today's world? I'm not sure that 'life imprisonment' is the horror now that it was then, or that the loss of freedom means the same, which tempers his argument a little. Perhaps. I like to think I am totally against capital punishment, but find myself momentarily wavering when the latest horrific serious crime hits the headlines. Then I settle back into complacent liberalism. It's a hard thing to talk about, thank you for approaching it through JSM.
Thanks for this post. interesting as usual.
Many people, including me, oppose the death penalty because of the risk of a flawed verdict and no possibility of reversal. Wondering if that was something Mill considered. Or whether it was a relevant issue at all during Mill's lifetime.
robertsdavidn.subsyack.com/about (free)
Yes he thought evidentiary standards should be raised, sentences commuted and the public told in case new evidence could come forwards