ABSTRACT
The subject is introduced by recounting the story of White Bear (written by Charlie Brooker). A woman is pursued and subjected to extraordinary cruelties, all of which take on a quite different meaning as we come to understand that these are acts of punishment for a dreadful crime. Questions are raised about the kind of society that could countenance such punishment and the effects it may have on all those involved. There is speculation that, as we strive to make the punishment fit the crime, we come perilously close to matching the iniquities of the wrongdoer. There are introductory discussions of the emotions that prompt punishment. Since punishment is among the ways in which the social order is established and maintained, its study can bring insights into the concerns of other academic disciplines. Punishment shapes ideas of agency, desert and what we owe to one another – ideas fundamental not only to our understanding of our relationship with others, but even to our own identity. The Introduction concludes by outlining the remainder of the book.
