This volume critically explores the basis and the goal of punishment from the standpoint of the right to punish. Studies and works dedicated to punishment are scarce compared to those dedicated to Crime Theory or some aspect thereof. The book reviews the main doctrines that have dealt with the theme of punishment from Antiquity to the present, not limiting itself to the legal-philosophical sphere but also analyzing the contributions from other social sciences. It then explores how these are reflected in the sphere of Positive Law. Moving from the most abstract and general to the most concrete...