Offense to Others

The second volume in Joel Feinberg's series The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law, Offense to Others focuses on the "e;offense principle,"e; which maintains that preventing shock, disgust, or revulsion is always a morally relevant reason for legal prohibitions. Feinberg clarifies the concept of an "e;offended mental state"e; and further contrasts the concept of offense with harm. He also considers the law of nuisance as a model for statutes creating "e;morals offenses,"e; showing its inadequacy as a model for understanding "e;profound offenses,"e; and discusses such issues as obscene words and social policy, pornography and the Constitution, and the differences between minor and profound offenses.