ABSTRACT
Before taking a normative stance on punishment, we need to be clear about what it is. My starting point in this chapter is Hart’s definition of punishment in “Prolegomenon to the Principles of Punishment”. After having contextualized this definition, I explain why definitions – and logical arguments more generally – are unhelpful, according to Hart, to dispel our perplexities about punishment. In a second step, I revise Hart’s definition to give a more inclusive one according to which punishment is the infliction of aversive consequences (some of which are intended) by legal authorities on a being for a past thing with which one is charged. I scrutinize Feinberg’s famous objection that Hart’s definition does not capture the expressive character of punishment. Finally, I make some important distinctions for the remainder of the discussion.
