Punishment

Punishment is either a means of revenge or a tool for the purpose of conditioning. A loving parent dispenses punishment as a means of behavior modification. Psychology tells us that punishment only works as long as the threat of punishment is present. That is to say, if we want to instill desirable behavioral changes in our children, punishment is not the most effective method for doing so. It is said that true behavior modification comes from positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement causes a child to associate reward with their desirable actions. Once a person is punished for their behavior, the threat of punishment for this behavior no longer exists; the punishment is simply reality. But this punishment may deter future acts of a similar nature in the punished individual and others. The understanding of a looming consequence may work as an effective deterrent, but only if the risk of said punishment outweighs the desire to engage in this undesirable behavior. A big part of childhood would seem to be finding this balance – testing boundaries, experiencing consequences, and modifying one’s own behavior as means of maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. When there is no evidence of a named looming consequence, a child may choose to ignore warnings in pursuit of activities that are discouraged by adults in their life. Sometimes, it may be in the child’s best interest for an adult to let them experience the natural consequences of their actions. This teaches the child to listen to these warnings adults provide. But, if a natural consequence could result in severe or permanent harm to a child, it is an adult’s responsibility to intervene. If my nearly 4-year-old daughter were running toward the edge of a cliff, it would be my responsibility to stop her. Telling her to stop and watching as she dove off the edge of this ridge, would be careless parenting. It has been said that those with the power to act have the responsibility to act. If this is true, I am responsible for whatever happens to my daughter as a result of my failure to physically stop her from heading toward the edge of this cliff. She hadn’t the experience to understand the natural consequences of her actions, but I did. This kind of inaction may only serve as punishment as revenge. It says, “I’m in pain because you aren’t listening to me, so I’m going to cause you pain by letting you cause yourself pain”.

Could a loving deity be justified in letting his children slip into an eternity of suffering? This permanent form of punishment could not be a means of behavior modification for the individual who finds this to be the natural consequences of their actions. The presence of this punishment may only work as a means of discouraging undesirable behavior in others as long as there is reason to believe the punishment exists. We all have personal experiences that inform our philosophical perspectives. Some of us feel we have reason to believe in eternal damnation. Many of us do not. It would seem unjust to let a person whose personal history gives them reason not to believe in eternal damnation suffer for their beliefs. As one who has been exposed to Christian philosophy much more than any other philosophy throughout his life, the Christian bible comes to mind when addressing this issue. Romans 9:20-24 would seem to say there are people who are created for the purpose of eternal damnation. It also would seem to say I am not qualified to question this. But this kind of blind faith would seem detrimental to the progression of our species. It says we should keep our heads down and do as we’re told. Many of us who believe in eternal damnation would exchange pleasure in this life for an eternity of bliss in the next. But this life is meant for our enjoyment. Fear and love cannot exist at the same time. If our actions are informed by fear, we are not letting love rule. It is in our nature to love. We learn to fear as a result of hurt. We are then more likely to engage in acts that cause others pain. We must find a way to overcome this cycle of fear and act according to our loving nature.