Punishment has been around for ages. From century to century, conceptions of punishment have changed, for good and bad, but the objective of punishment has not changed. There are two sides to the story, one is to reform or rehabilitate and the other is to be punitive and seek penalty in return for the bad act committed. It is difficult not to notice that there is much controversy surrounding the subject. The punishment has stood the test of time and for good reason. Some will say the need for punishment is obvious, but others say it has gone too far. I say that the glue that keeps society in order is punishment. Without our government's systematic criminal code to enforce the social norms put in place, our neighborhoods might not be as safe. However, the problem with this type of mentality is deciding how far is too far and how to judge correctly. The story of the punishment is sad and disturbing. From birth, philosophically speaking, it was a disaster for a father named Retribution. “According to our standard theory of retribution, then, punishment is inflicted in order to make the punisher pay for his offense” (Cottingham p. 1). Also, a mother named Punitive. The word or concept punishment has root meanings derived from punitive, "< Post-Classical Latin punitivus inflicting or implying punishment (13th century in British and Continental sources) < Classical Latin pūnīt-, past participatory root of pūnīrepunish v .+ - suffix īvus-ive. Compare Middle French, French punitive (c1370 in Middle French in the sense "(of a person) inclined to punish", late 18th century in sense 1), Spanish punitivo (early 16th century), punitivo Portuguese (1569), the Italian punitivo (a1406)” (OED.com). Cause and effect, every action has a reaction and t...... middle of paper ......rigo, Bruce. "Punishment, Liberty, and the Culture of Control: An Examination of Torture: America's Brutal Prisons 1." Contemporary Justice Review 9.2 (2006): 229-33. Print.Johnson, Dominic DP and Oliver Kruger. “The Good of Anger: Supernatural Punishments and the Evolution of Cooperation.” Political Theology 5.2 (2004): 159-76. Print.McCurry, Jeffrey. “The spiritual dimension: religion, philosophy and human value – By John Cottingham.” Modern Theology 24.2 (2008): 320-24. Print.Online etymology dictionary. Internet. 15 February 2011. .Oxford University Press - OUP - Official UK homepage of Oxford University Press - Oxford Books. Internet. February 15, 2011. “Punishment (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). » Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Internet. February 15. 2011. .