Offense to OthersThe second volume in Joel Feinberg's series The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law, Offense to Others focuses on the "offense principle," which maintains that preventing shock, disgust, or revulsion is always a morally relevant reason for legal prohibitions. Feinberg clarifies the concept of an "offended mental state" and further contrasts the concept of offense with harm. He also considers the law of nuisance as a model for statutes creating "morals offenses," showing its inadequacy as a model for understanding "profound offenses," and discusses such issues as obscene words and social policy, pornography and the Constitution, and the differences between minor and profound offenses. |
Contents
A ride on the | |
The modes and meaning of offense | |
The relation between offense and privacy | |
the seriousness of the offense | |
the reasonableness of the offending conduct | |
Reading the balance | |
Violent pornography the cult of macho and harm to women | |
Violent pornography and profound offense | |
Pornography and the Constitution 1 The offense principle and the first amendment | |
Hicklin and Roth | |
from Roth to Paris Adult Theatre | |
some tips from Justice Brennan | |
Obscene Words and their Functions I | |
Profanities | |
Cultural change and the martyrdom of the premature | |
Conclusion | |
Profound Offense 1 Limits to the nuisance model | |
The distinctive characteristics of profound offense | |
The bare knowledge problem again | |
Solution of the bare knowledge problem | |
The mistreatment of dead bodies | |
Moral sensibility sentimentality and squeamishness | |
The Nazis in Skokie | |
Summary | |
The Idea of the Obscene | |
Two apparently conflicting rationales for the prohibition of obscenity | |
vulgarity | |
yukkiness | |
clues in extended applications | |
The view of D A J Richards | |
general characteristics of obscenity | |
Obscenity as Pornography 1 Is pornography obscene? | |
Pornographic writing contrasted with literary and dramatic | |
the film Emmanuelle | |
Pornographic pictorial art poetry and program music | |
Can pornography be art? The minimal relevance of the question | |
How can sex of all things be obscene? | |
The feminist case against pornography | |
Vulgarities | |
vulgar reference | |
vivid description intensification and colorful speech | |
expressions of strong | |
feeling | |
Obscene Words and their Functions II | |
The uses of invective | |
The doctrine of fighting words and its difficulties | |
obscene wit and the dirty joke | |
The useful but limited contribution of obscene words to obscene humor | |
Obscene Words and Social Policy 1 Context and paradox | |
euphemism cacophemism versus prophemismdisphemism | |
The reaction to excessive euphemization | |
Two strategies for ridding the language of obscene words | |
An analysis of dirtymindedness | |
The case for retention of the obscene vocabulary | |
Obscene Words and the Law 1 Bare utterance and instant offense | |
Offensive nuisance and harassment | |
F C C v Pacifica Foundation | |
The case against regulation of indecent language on the air waves | |
Notes | |
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Common terms and phrases
acts aesthetic affront amusing appeal applied argument attitudes audience avoid balancing tests behavior cacophemism called cause Chap Chaplinsky charientic comic coprophagy Court curse dirty jokes dirty words disgust disrespect effect emotive meaning erotic euphemisms evil example expression feelings fighting words films footnote fuck function genuine H. L. A. Hart H. L. Mencken harm principle human Ibid immoral inconvenience indecent interest judgment kind laughter legislative liberal linguistic materials Model Penal Code Nazis objects obscene words offending conduct offense principle offensive nuisances one’s Paris Adult Theatre party person prevent profane profound offense prohibition protection punishment pure insult reaction reason refer repugnance response Roth sacred Sagarin sense sentiment seriously sex organs sexual sexual intercourse shame shit shock simply Skokie social value standards statutes story swastika symbols taboos things thought unpleasant utterance victim violated violent pornography vulgar women wrong