Transformative Technologies and the Future of Punishment
Rebecca Roache
About the Course
From mind uploading to moral enhancement, future technologies will offer radical new possibilities for punishment. How should these new techniques be used? Philosopher Rebecca Roache examines a range of ‘transformative technologies’ and finds they force us to re-examine deep ethical questions about the aims of punishment in the justice system. New technologies demand answers to old questions.
By the end of the course, you will have learned:
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How mind uploading, life span extension, psychological tailoring and moral enhancement could be used as forms of punishment.
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What different ethical questions are raised by current and future kinds of punishment
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How forward and backward looking aims of punishment result in very different conceptions of justice
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How ‘retribution’ is an unavoidable component of justice, and what that means for future punishments
About the Instructor
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Rebecca Roache
Rebecca Roache is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her book, For F*ck’s Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude & Fun, was published internationally by Oxford University Press in 2023. She is currently working on her next book, Spit It Out: How and Why We Speak In Code, also for Oxford University Press.
Course Syllabus
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Part One: Transformative TechnologiesRoache explores how technologies of the future will provide dramatic new possibilities for punishment.
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Part Two: The Future Of PunishmentRoache explores the ethical justification and aims of punishment, arguing that the future of the justice system depends on them.
