Crime and Punishment in Dante\'s

Crime and Punishment in Dante's Era

In the Inferno, Dante shows that he has an interesting perspective on evil. The world he describes suggests that people are evil and cannot change. This is seen by the way that the people he sees in hell are continuing to sin in the same way they did on earth. The world he describes is also one where the way that people are punished is fitting to their crime. In considering Dante's perspective on evil, it is seen that his views are very different to those today and not ones that I agree with.

In the Inferno, Dante travels through the ten levels of hell. In each level, he sees people that have been guilty of certain crimes. In each case, the people are being punished in a way that is fitting to their crime. The people who sinned via wrath are seen to be attacking each other. The thieves have been turned into snakes. The people who committed suicide have to spend their lives as trees. This suggests that people do not change. In this way, a person who does wrong is seen as evil with this not able to be changes. With this belief, there is no suggestion that people can learn from their mistakes and become better people. The punishments describe also suggest that people will continue to act as they did on earth if they are given freedom. For example, it is expected that the people who sinned via wrath will continue to be violent. They are the placed in a situation where they have little choice. The people who committed suicide have to live as trees because trees are not able to take any actions. This assumes that the people would continue to take the same kind of actions. Overall, this shows that Dante's perspective on evil is that it is something that people are and something that cannot be changed.

In considering Dante's perspective on evil, it is seen that his is very different to today's perspective on evil. Today, a person's sins are not seen as something that makes the person evil. Instead, a sin is more likely to be seen as a sinful act committed by a person who is basically good. This means that the action a person's take does not define them as good or evil. Instead, people are a mix of good and evil and struggle to choose good. At the same time, there is a focus today on being forgiven for your sins. In this way, there is no support for the idea that a person who commits a sin will continue to act in the same way. There is also no support for the idea that they should continue to be punished for that sin.

This leads to a consideration of the punishment described in the Inferno. When reading about the way people are punished for their sins, I wondered about the point of the punishment. In today's world, people are punished with the intention of having them learn the error of their ways and become better people. This is based on the idea that people can change and that a person is not considered necessarily evil just because they have sinned in some way, In Dante's world, people are punished so they continue to suffer with no positive outcome in this.

In considering Dante's world and the modern world, I agree with the modern view of evil. This view is that people are not defined by the acts that commit and should not be punished for no reason other than to make the person suffer. Instead, people should be punished in a way that gives the person the opportunity to improve themselves. At the same time, I believe that no person is completely evil, that people should be forgiven for their sins, and that everyone can change.

Crime and Punishment Today

In the Inferno, Dante describes a world where people are punished in a way that is fitting with their crime. When considering the effectiveness and logic of this, I do not think that similar methods should be used to punish those who have been judged guilty of crimes in our era.

The first reason I disagree with Dante's methods is that there seems to be no point to the punishments given. I believe that punishing people in a way that is fitting to the crime will only work to reinforce the kind of behavior that led to the crime. One clear example is with people who have committed wrath, with all these people placed together so they will be violent against each other. In considering these people, there is little chance that they will become better people because of the punishment. Instead, they will have little choice but to become increasingly violent. In this way, the crime fitting the punishment has no positive outcome, but has a negative one. It does not help people who have committed crimes, but is more likely to make them worse. I disagree with this focus and believe that forcing people to suffer is not a valid form of punishment if there is no potential for it to have a positive outcome.

The second reason I disagree with the punishment fitting the crime is that this focus will lead to people being defined by their crimes and will reinforce the idea that people cannot change. If an individual is guilty of stealing and then is punished in a way that constantly reminds him that he stole, the person will begin to see himself as being defined by his actions. Rather than seeing himself as a person who stole, he will see himself as a thief. The major difference is that if someone sees themselves as a person who committed a crime, they have the ability to choose not to commit the crime again. In contrast, if a person sees themselves as a thief, this is who they believe they are. It is easy to change what you have done; it is not easy to change if your crime is who you think you are. For this reason, I think that a system where the punishment fits the crime will stop people from changing and create a world where people feel like they are defined by their crimes.