Penal law design requires theatrical stagecraft
Evidence
To say, Multum ex scenâ, is to say, lose no occasion of speaking to the eye. In a well-composed committee of penal law, I know not a more essential personage than the manager of a theatre. — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 684
Categorization
- DEFINE: Bentham’s gloss on Bacon redefines ‘scena’ as scenery rather than lying — the core definitional move of his entire appendix on penal stage-effect.
- XREF: connects to: Punishment must make the crime-punishment code immediate in act and reality — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 180; The government stages theatrical prosecution rituals to conceal weak evidence — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 480; Staged ceremony can substitute for added real punishment to deter others. — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 16
Related
- Staged ceremony can substitute for added real punishment to deter others. (similarity 0.80)
- Even the Inquisition’s stagecraft can be borrowed profitably (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Punishment must make the crime-punishment code immediate in act and reality
#exemplifies(0.85) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 180 - Staged ceremony can substitute for added real punishment to deter others.
#exemplifies(0.82) — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 16 - The government stages theatrical prosecution rituals to conceal weak evidence
#corroborates(0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 480