Philosophy of Education - Essay Example

Retribution is a sentencing philosophy that states that delinquents ought to be castigated based on the cruelty of their offense or felony. The establishment of retribution can be traced back to Kant's philosophy in 1797. Modern-day philosophers consider retribution as having been the main focus of Kant's philosophy. One of the weaknesses of this philosophy is that some individuals consider it to being disloyal to the general connotation and significance of life for its support to vengeance (Chambliss 342).

The main objective of a retribution according to Chambliss is the attainment of "the highest good in the world possible through freedom" (341). Other than being the objective, this in my opinion serves as a strength. RehabilitationThe main objective of rehabilitation is to change the mindsets of delinquent individuals and consequently discourage them from committing any other felonies. The philosophy of rehabilitation was adopted in the 1970s when researchers started noticing the positive consequences of rehabilitation of delinquents through treatment (Illescas, Sanchez-Meca, and Genoves n.p). Though one of the strengths of rehabilitation is the fact that it leads to an overall change of behavior, this philosophy fails to put into account that some delinquent behaviors may be a result of a disability.

In other words, there is no clear distinction between disability and impairment. Incapacitation The main objective of this philosophy is to lock up delinquents in a bid to prevent them from engaging in any further delinquent behaviors or activities. The circumstances and state of affairs of jails and other confinement places decrease or lessen the wish or aspiration to commit a felony (Walker 154). Traditionally, incapacitation was done through evictions or expelling delinquents from the community.

Therefore, this philosophy has been used in sentencing since time immemorial. The strengths and weaknesses of incapacitation lie in the techniques of guesstimating the results or outcomes of incapacitation. In incapacitation, delinquents who committed felonies of similar magnitude serve similar sentences. There is however a probability that some delinquents may escape punishment or are given lenient punishments based on their economic status. Some people may also be sentenced unfairly as a result of discrimination based on the color of the skin and gender (Walker 161).

Restoration The main objective of restoration is to revamp or patch up the damages caused by delinquency within the society (Siegel 495). Subsequently, restoration attends to the fundamental issues that contribute to delinquency. According to the Centre for Justice and Restoration, restoration justice was established approximately thirty years ago. One of the strengths of restorative justice is that it benefits all aspects of the society including the victims of crime, the delinquents, and the society in general.

However, this philosophy has a major limitation. Delinquents ought to be punished for their criminal behaviors. Instead of punishing delinquents, this philosophy encourages forgiveness. This philosophy fails to put into consideration the fact that some individuals may have committed felonies as a result of psychological problems. It is very difficult to include such individuals in the restoration process (Siegel 496).