The Role of Various Readings of Free Will in the Use of Punishment Theories (Focused on Mulla Sadra's View)

Abstract

Free will is one of the philosophical topics that have important and significant function in the humanities. Various readings of free will have been provided; each of these readings has functions in the humanities that are completely different from other functions of the other reading. One of these functions is the use of legal theories about the punishment of offenders. In this paper, after introducing different theories of free will and two major legal theories about punishment (Retributivism and Utilitarianism) , the ratio of different forms of the free will to the legal theories of punishment is measured and the result is obtained that the legal theory Retributivism is based solely on an incompatible reading of free will, and it is only this type of freedom can apply the theory of punishment; contrary to the legal theory of Utilitarianism, which is non-conditioned to free will, and all the different forms, and even the attitude of hard determinism, can use this theory of punishment. According to this result, Mulla Sadra's view was drawn on punishment, and it was clear that he - as a Compatibilist philosopher - did not deny the ability to praise and deserve punishment; but in a diminishing approach, he reduces the concentration of these concepts in an incompatible intellectual system and reduces them in the sense that it can be used in the system of Compatibilism; this has led him to be very similar in terms of practical functions, to the theories of Utilitarian punishment.

Keywords

• retributivism
• utilitarianism
• free will
• compatibilism
• incompatibilism
• mulla sadra