Which of the following is not a premise in van den Haag's response to the objection that the death penalty is morally impermissible because death by execution is degrading and dehumanizing?
A) It is not the penalty that is dehumanizing, but the murderer's own crime.
B) To believe the penalty is degrading to the criminal is to mistake an effect for a cause.
C) If a punishment has a deterrent effect, it cannot be considered degrading or inhuman.
D) Death is our common human fate and cannot be degrading or inhuman in itself.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Van den Haag argues that the dehumanizing aspect is not inherent in the death penalty itself but in the actions of the murderer (A) and that considering the penalty degrading is a confusion of cause and effect (B). He also states that death, being a common fate, cannot be degrading (D). The statement that a punishment cannot be considered degrading if it has a deterrent effect (C) is not part of his argument against the specific objection that execution is degrading and dehumanizing.

Which of the Following Is Not a Premise in Van