ABSTRACT
Legal punishment has two functions: retribution—“an eye for an eye” or its modern equivalent—and deterrence, the inhibition of future offenses. Behavioral science can speak to the effectiveness of punishment and other methods of behavioral control but must be silent on ethical questions. Punishment cannot deter either Skinner’s “uncaused” autonomous man or an individual incapable of responding reinforcement or punishment. The “abuse excuse” is valid only for the insane. Punishment may sometimes be immoral; it is not, as Skinner often claimed, ineffective.
