| Preface |
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v | |
| 1 Introduction |
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1 | (18) |
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1.1 The limits of the enquiry |
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1 | (2) |
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1.2 A matter of justification |
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3 | (5) |
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5 | (1) |
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6 | (2) |
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8 | (11) |
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1.3.1 Chapter 2: Deterrence-oriented theories |
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8 | (2) |
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1.3.2 Chapter 3: Retributivism |
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10 | (1) |
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1.3.3 Chapter 4: The incapacitative rationale |
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11 | (1) |
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1.3.4 Chapter 5: The denunciatory conception |
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12 | (2) |
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1.3.5 Chapter 6: The purgative rationale |
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14 | (2) |
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1.3.6 Chapter 7: Problems of administration |
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16 | (3) |
| 2 Deterrence through Capital Punishment |
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19 | (50) |
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2.1 The deterrence-oriented rationale expounded |
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20 | (3) |
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2.2 Simplistic strictures |
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23 | (7) |
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2.2.1 A misjudged recourse to Rawls |
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24 | (5) |
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2.2.1.1 Donnelly's first line of reasoning: the matter of slavery |
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24 | (1) |
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2.2.1.2 Donnelly's second line of reasoning: an untenable asymmetry |
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25 | (1) |
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2.2.1.3 Donnelly's third line of reasoning: public order |
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26 | (1) |
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2.2.1.4 Some further reflections |
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27 | (2) |
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2.2.2 Using people as means |
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29 | (1) |
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30 | (8) |
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2.3.1 The meagerness of the evidence |
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31 | (2) |
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33 | (5) |
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2.3.2.1 Prospects versus certainties |
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34 | (1) |
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2.3.2.2 Beyond deliberation |
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34 | (2) |
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36 | (2) |
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2.4 The moral untenability of the deterrence-oriented rationale |
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38 | (29) |
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39 | (5) |
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2.4.1.1 Blocking the analogy? |
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40 | (2) |
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2.4.1.2 Help from an unexpected quarter? |
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42 | (2) |
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44 | (27) |
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2.4.2.1 The massacre of the innocents |
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45 | (13) |
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2.4.2.1.1 Ineffective dissimulation? |
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45 | (4) |
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2.4.2.1.2 A retributivistic side-constraint? |
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49 | (4) |
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2.4.2.1.3 Justifiable executions of innocents? |
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53 | (5) |
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2.4.2.2 Types ofpunishments |
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58 | (16) |
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2.4.2.2.1 Proportionality |
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59 | (1) |
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60 | (5) |
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2.4.2.2.3 Retributivism to the rescue? |
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65 | (1) |
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2.4.2.2.4 Sunstein and Vermeule on analogies |
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66 | (1) |
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67 | (2) |
| 3 Death and Retribution |
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69 | (68) |
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71 | (9) |
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3.1.1 Desert and moral responsibility |
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72 | (1) |
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72 | (2) |
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3.1.3 Commensurateness, proportionality, and lex talionis |
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74 | (4) |
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74 | (1) |
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74 | (3) |
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77 | (1) |
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3.1.4 Punishment as communication |
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78 | (2) |
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3.2 Versions of retributivism |
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80 | (24) |
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3.2.1 Desert-focused retributivism |
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80 | (17) |
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3.2.1.1 Freedom as the unjust gain? |
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81 | (4) |
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3.2.1.2 The price of a licence |
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85 | (7) |
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85 | (1) |
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86 | (2) |
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88 | (2) |
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90 | (2) |
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92 | (5) |
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3.2.1.3.1 A manifestly unsustainable version of the thesis |
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92 | (1) |
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3.2.1.3.2 A tenable version of the thesis |
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93 | (3) |
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3.2.1.3.3 Some qualifications |
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96 | (1) |
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3.2.2 Vindicatory retributivism |
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97 | (7) |
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3.2.2.1 Retribution is not revenge |
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98 | (1) |
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3.2.2.2 The communicative dimension |
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99 | (2) |
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3.2.2.3 A first objection to the communicative dimension of vindicatory retributivism |
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101 | (1) |
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3.2.2.4 A second objection to the communicative dimension of vindicatory retributivism |
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102 | (2) |
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3.3 Does retributivism disallow capital punishment? |
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104 | (11) |
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3.3.1 Contrition precluded? |
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105 | (5) |
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3.3.1.1 A first rejoinder by Markel |
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107 | (1) |
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3.3.1.2 The time of the punishment |
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108 | (1) |
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3.3.1.3 Post-punitive opportunities for reform |
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109 | (1) |
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3.3.2 Human dignity revisited |
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110 | (5) |
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3.3.2.1 The exploitation of pain |
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112 | (1) |
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3.3.2.2 The death penalty and moral responsibility |
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113 | (2) |
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3.4 Can retributivism justify capital punishment? |
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115 | (20) |
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3.4.1 The views of retributivists |
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116 | (3) |
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3.4.2 On the limited determinacy of retributivism |
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119 | (9) |
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3.4.2.1 Commensurateness to the rescue? |
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119 | (5) |
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120 | (2) |
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3.4.2.1.2 Against uniqueness |
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122 | (2) |
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124 | (4) |
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128 | (9) |
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3.4.2.3.1 Reiman on retribution and equality |
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129 | (1) |
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3.4.2.3.2 Waldron on returning like for like |
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130 | (5) |
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3.5 A concluding rejection of scepticism |
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135 | (2) |
| 4 Death as Incapacitation |
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137 | (18) |
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137 | (10) |
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4.1.1 Punishment as incapacitation |
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138 | (2) |
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4.1.2 Incapacitation is not tantamount to deterrence |
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140 | (5) |
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140 | (3) |
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4.1.2.2 A missed distinction: some closing remarks and examples |
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143 | (2) |
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4.1.3 Incapacitation is not tantamount to retribution or denunciation |
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145 | (2) |
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4.2 The fatal shortcomings of the incapacitative justification |
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147 | (6) |
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4.2.1 Moral responsibility swept aside |
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147 | (3) |
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4.2.2 More on moral responsibility |
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150 | (1) |
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4.2.3 The hurdle of the Minimal Invasion Principle |
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151 | (2) |
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4.3 Conclusion: irreparable damage |
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153 | (2) |
| 5 Death as a Means of Denunciation |
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155 | (24) |
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5.1 The general denunciatory theory of punishment |
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155 | (6) |
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5.1.1 Denunciation versus deterrence |
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157 | (2) |
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5.1.2 Denunciation versus retribution |
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159 | (2) |
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5.2 The denunciatory theory as a rationale for capital punishment |
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161 | (1) |
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5.3 The unsustainability of the denunciatory theory |
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162 | (16) |
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5.3.1 Empirical murkiness |
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162 | (2) |
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5.3.2 When perceptions do not match reality |
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164 | (4) |
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5.3.2.1 Denunciation versus incapacitation |
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165 | (2) |
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5.3.2.2 A problem of principle |
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167 | (1) |
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5.3.3 Inverted proportionality and surreptitious crimes |
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168 | (4) |
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5.3.3.1 Reinforcement of moral outlooks |
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168 | (2) |
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5.3.3.2 The defusing of vindictive impulses |
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170 | (1) |
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5.3.3.3 The consolidation of a community's identity |
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171 | (1) |
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172 | (2) |
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5.3.5 The minimal invasion principle afresh |
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174 | (4) |
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5.4 Concluding reflections |
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178 | (1) |
| 6 The Purgative Rationale for Capital Punishment |
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179 | (88) |
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6.1 The execution of Achan |
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181 | (6) |
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6.1.1 The extraneous features |
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182 | (4) |
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6.1.1.1 Excessive severity and the massacre of the innocents |
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182 | (1) |
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6.1.1.2 Collective responsibility versus defilement |
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183 | (2) |
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6.1.1.3 Some further extraneous features |
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185 | (1) |
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6.1.2 The gist of the purgative rationale |
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186 | (1) |
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187 | (36) |
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6.2.1 The underlying states of mind |
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188 | (15) |
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189 | (2) |
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191 | (8) |
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6.2.1.2.1 Heartlessness without evil |
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193 | (1) |
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6.2.1.2.2 Heartlessness with some qualms |
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194 | (2) |
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6.2.1.2.3 Heartlessness with seemingly good intentions |
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196 | (1) |
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6.2.1.2.4 Heartlessness, moral conflicts, and mitigation |
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197 | (2) |
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6.2.1.3 Extreme recklessness |
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199 | (4) |
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6.2.1.3.1 More realistic examples |
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200 | (1) |
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6.2.1.3.2 Recklessness without evil |
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201 | (1) |
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6.2.1.3.3 The qualitative/quantitative distinction again |
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202 | (1) |
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6.2.2 The factor of harmfulness |
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203 | (20) |
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6.2.2.1 Connections between culpability and harm |
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204 | (8) |
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6.2.2.1.1 Failed attempts and unmaterialized risks |
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204 | (2) |
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6.2.2.1.2 Overdetermined harm |
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206 | (2) |
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6.2.2.1.3 Attenuated links |
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208 | (3) |
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6.2.2.1.4 Spectatorial pleasure |
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211 | (1) |
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6.2.2.2 Is severe harm necessary for evil? |
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212 | (14) |
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6.2.2.2.1 Concomitants of harm |
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215 | (1) |
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6.2.2.2.2 Tortured cats and bullied children |
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216 | (2) |
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6.2.2.2.3 Sadistic voyeurism again |
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218 | (1) |
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6.2.2.2.4 A face-saving reply |
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219 | (2) |
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6.2.2.2.5 An embarrassing secret |
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221 | (2) |
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223 | (37) |
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6.3.1 Nothing supernatural |
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224 | (2) |
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226 | (2) |
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227 | (1) |
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227 | (1) |
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6.3.3 Defilement and purgation |
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228 | (32) |
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6.3.3.1 A first query: humankind as a whole? |
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230 | (1) |
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6.3.3.2 A second query: capital punishment for mere contempt? |
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231 | (1) |
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6.3.3.3 A third query: whence the community's involvement? |
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232 | (3) |
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6.3.3.4 A fourth query: why death? |
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235 | (2) |
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6.3.3.5 A fifth query: a role for repentance? |
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237 | (3) |
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6.3.3.6 A sixth query: difficult backgrounds and extenuation |
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240 | (4) |
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6.3.3.6.1 General inflexibility |
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241 | (2) |
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6.3.3.6.2 Some exceptions |
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243 | (1) |
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6.3.3.7 A seventh query: mental maladies and shortcomings |
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244 | (4) |
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6.3.3.7.1 Mistakes about harmfulness versus mistakes about morality |
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244 | (1) |
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6.3.3.7.2 Mental retardation |
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245 | (1) |
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246 | (1) |
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6.3.3.7.4 Insanity after conviction |
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247 | (1) |
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6.3.3.8 An eighth query: failed attempts afresh |
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248 | (1) |
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6.3.3.9 A ninth query: jurisdictional complexities |
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249 | (3) |
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6.3.3.10 A tenth query: vagueness and aggravating factors |
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252 | (4) |
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6.3.3.10.1 The concerns of the opponents of the purgative rationale |
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253 | (1) |
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6.3.3.10.2 Dealing with vagueness |
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254 | (2) |
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6.3.3.11 An eleventh query: permissibility as well as obligatoriness? |
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256 | (15) |
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6.3.3.11.1 When permissibility is missing |
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256 | (1) |
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6.3.3.11.2 When executions are permissible |
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257 | (3) |
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6.4 Conclusion: why only liberal democracies? |
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260 | (7) |
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6.4.1 An ancillary reason: procedural fairness |
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260 | (2) |
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6.4.2 The chief reason: purgation in a moral community |
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262 | (5) |
| 7 The Death Penalty in Operation |
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267 | (62) |
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7.1 Mistakes and irrevocability |
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269 | (28) |
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7.1.1 A preliminary point: clarifying an ambiguity |
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270 | (1) |
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7.1.2 Intentional killings of innocents? |
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271 | (7) |
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7.1.2.1 A specious argument |
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271 | (4) |
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7.1.2.2 Intentional or not? |
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275 | (3) |
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7.1.2.2.1 The de dicto/de re distinction |
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276 | (1) |
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7.1.2.2.2 The distinction applied |
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277 | (1) |
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7.1.3 Sweeping too broadly |
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278 | (6) |
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7.1.3.1 Lempert's reasoning afresh |
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279 | (1) |
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7.1.3.2 Intentionality at the level of decision-making, once again |
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280 | (1) |
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7.1.3.3 Steiker and Steiker on the distinctive harms of mistaken executions |
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281 | (3) |
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284 | (6) |
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284 | (2) |
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7.1.4.2 Remedies during one's lifetime |
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286 | (4) |
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6.3.5 Capital punishment in the shadow of mistakes |
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290 | (7) |
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7.1.5.1 Confidence rather than certainty |
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292 | (3) |
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7.1.5.2 Exasperation as the price of legitimacy |
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295 | (2) |
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297 | (16) |
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7.2.1 A markedly inadequate response |
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299 | (4) |
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7.2.2 Another unsatisfactory response |
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303 | (2) |
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7.2.3 Distortive exaggeration |
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305 | (6) |
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7.2.3.1 Processes of differentiation in practice |
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305 | (3) |
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7.2.3.1.1 Studies cited by Dolinko |
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306 | (2) |
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7.2.3.1.2 McCord on aggravating factors |
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308 | (1) |
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7.2.3.2 Differentiation in principle |
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308 | (3) |
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7.2.4 Residual arbitrariness |
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311 | (2) |
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7.3 Invidious discrimination |
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313 | (13) |
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314 | (1) |
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7.3.2 A couple of complexities and the key rejoinder |
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315 | (2) |
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7.3.3 No severe punishments? A first look |
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317 | (1) |
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7.3.4 No severe punishments? A second look |
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318 | (6) |
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7.3.4.1 An opening reply to Cholbi |
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319 | (1) |
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7.3.4.2 A further reply to Cholbi |
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319 | (1) |
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7.3.4.3 A final reply to Cholbi |
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320 | (4) |
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7.3.4.3.1 Fair discrimination |
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320 | (3) |
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7.3.4.3.2 A dubious principle |
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323 | (1) |
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324 | (1) |
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7.3.5 Substance dressed up afresh as procedure |
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324 | (2) |
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7.4 A few words in conclusion |
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326 | (3) |
| References |
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329 | (12) |
| Index |
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341 | |