Harm to Others (The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law, Vol. 1)

In this volume, Feinberg focuses on the meanings of "interest," the relationship between interests and wants, and the distinction between want-regarding and ideal-regarding analyses on interest and hard cases for the applications of the concept of harm. Examples of the "hard cases" are harm to character, vicarious harm, and prenatal and posthumous harm. Feinberg also discusses the relationship between harm and rights, the concept of a victim, and the distinctions of various quantitative dimensions of harm, consent, and offense, including the magnitude, probability, risk, and "importance" of harm. This first volume in the four-volume series The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law focuses on the'harm principle,'the commonsense view that prevention of harm to persons other than the perpetrator is a legitimate purpose of criminal legislation. Feinberg presents a detailed analysis of the concept and definition of harm and applies it to a host of practical and theoretical issues, showing how the harm principle must be interpreted if it is to be a plausible guide to the lawmaker. The second volume of Joel Feinberg's work, "The Moral Limits of Criminal Law", a four-volume work that addresses the question: what kinds of conduct may the state make criminal without infringing on the moral autonomy of individual citizen? The 4th and final volume in the series defines the philosophical basis for criminalizing so-called "victimless crimes", such as pornography and consensual sexual activity. V. 1. Harm To Others -- V. 2. Offense To Others -- V. 3. Harm To Self -- V. 4. Harmless Wrongdoing. Joel Feinberg. Includes Bibliographies And Indexes.