Posted by Jim Carrico, UST Graduate Student, Master of Arts in Catholic Studies
Last Thursday (10/22/09) the CSMA students hosted the second annual Fall Disputation. A disputation is a formal discussion upon some philosophic question, always phrased in a yes / no form. At this latest discussion the question posed was, “Is execution a legitimate form of punishment?” Most would agree that as a form of defense, execution could be resorted to in some instances. However the question was crafted so as to exclude this consideration and rather focus on the point of whether it is justifiable purely as a form of punishment. This question was elucidated by Dr. Kennedy and then taken up by, Dr. Wojda and Dr. Lu. What followed was a riveting examination of the nature of punishment in general and its aims. The fruit of the evening was that everyone went away with a more lucid sense of what issues were involved in the question. The CSMA students intend to host many more disputations in the future. So keep your eyes peeled and be sure to reply to emails and postings with any intriguing questions you may have. We are always looking for topics!