Citation

Hsiao T. Think (Lond) 2020; 19(54): 49-54.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Royal Institute of Philosophy, Publisher Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/S1477175619000277

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Is it ever morally okay to spank children as a form of punishment? Polls consistently show that a large majority of Americans think so. Outside of the United States, corporal punishment is widely administered. In fact, Brunei and Singapore, which are both developed countries with highly advanced economies, even prescribe it as a form of state-sanctioned judicial punishment for adult offenders. However, many academics are skeptical of the effectiveness of spanking. Corporal punishment, the experts argue, is bad parenting because it is linked to diminished developmental outcomes in children that can last into adulthood. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued a statement saying that parents shouldn't ever spank their children. In fact, they call for spanking to be legally banned.

But not so fast. Does spanking actually work? Well, it depends. Whether something "works" depends on the purpose you have in mind. So the question of whether spanking works as a form of punishment depends on what you think the purpose of punishment is.


Opponents of spanking rest their arguments on the implicit assumption that punishment can only be justified by its corrective or deterrent effects. But this is a questionable assumption. Punishment is fundamentally about retribution: it seeks to give a wrongdoer what he deserves. It is for this reason that corporal punishment is morally permissible, irrespective of whether it corrects or deters future misbehaviour.

Language: en