Michael Moore is of the leading Anglo-American legal theorists and this text is widely regarded as the leading modern statement of the retributivist theory of punishment and of that theory's systematic application to criminal law doctrine.

Introduction ; 1. A Theory of Criminal Law Theories ; PART ONE: THE THEORY OF CRIMINAL LAW'S FUNCTION ; 2. Closet Retributivism ; 3. The Moral Worth of Retribution ; 4. Justifying Retributivism ; PART TWO: THE THEORY OF THE GENERAL PART: THE THEORY OF RESPONSIBILITY ; A. The Nature of Moral Responsibility ; 5. The Independent Moral Significance of Wrongdoing ; B. The Elements of Responsibility: Wrongdoing and Culpability ; 1. The Nature of Wrongdoing ; a. the Nature of Human Action ; 6. Moore on Act and Crime ; b. The Nature of Causation ; 7. Causation, Rights-Violations, and Wrongdoing ; 8. Foreseeing Harm Opaquely ; 2. The Nature of Culpability ; a. The Nature of Mental States ; 9. Prima Facie Moral Culpability ; 10. Mind, Brain, and the Unconscious ; 11. Intentions and Mens Rea ; The Nature of Excuse ; 12. Causation and the Excusescuse ; 13. Choice, Character, and Excuse ; PART THREE: THE THEORY OF THE SPECIAL PART: THEORIES OF LEGISLATION AND OF WRONGFUL ACTION ; A. The Theory of Proper Legislative Aim ; 16. A Non-Exclusionary Theory of Legislative Aim: Taking Aim at Moral Wrongdoing ; B. The Theory of Moral Wrongfulness ; 17. Torture and the Balance of Evils ; C. The Theory of the Limits of Criminal Legislation ; 18. Liberty's Limits on Legislation

`The high-point of Moore's exposition ... is a fine and psychologically penetrating defense of subjective moral institutions and emotions as 'heuristic indicators' of moral truths.' Books and Culture, July/Aug. 2000. `In an elegant and masterly introductory essay, laying out in order all the tasks of a theory of criminal law, he pleads that any 'deep theory' of the way law operates must take a moral point of view and be founded on moral institutions.' Books and Culture, July/Aug. 2000. `This book belongs on the shelves of every serious criminal law theorist and every research library in the world.' M. M. Feeley, University of California, Berkeley, Choice, Feb 1999, Vol 36, no. 6 `The book has four particular qualities which mark it out as a distinctive contribution to criminal law theory... its scope is remarkably broad. Furthermore, Moore brings an unusual combination of disciplinary perspectives to bear on the wide range of questions which he considers. Moore is also unusual in giving the emotions a central place in his theory of criminal law. One has to admire the originality of Moore's position. He is a trenchant anti-consequentialist in ethics who nonetheless provides a careful analysis of the proper role of consequential arguments in shaping criminal law.' Nicola Lacey, The Modern Law Review `... these are high-quality essays by a considerable figure, and should be read by anyone interested in criminal theory who has not done so already.' A. P. Simester, The Cambridge Law Journal, 1998. `Much appreciation goes to Professor Moore for sharing his eloquent legal mind with us and our everlasting gratitude goes to the publisher, Oxford Univesrity Press, for bringing us this marvellous book in paperback....making this wonderful journey through the law accessible to students even.' Sally Ramage, The Criminal Lawyer

The author is one of the leading Anglo-American legal theorists, and this text is a distillation of many years' work in the field of criminal law theory Broad scope and interdisciplinary approach allows careful analysis of the wide-ranging questions in criminal law theory

Professor Michael Moore holds the Charles R. Walgreen, Jr. Chair at the Univerity of Illinois. He is jointly appointed as Professor of Law in the College of Law and as Professor of Philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He also holds an appointment as a Professor with the Center for Advanced Studies. His major works include Causation and Responsibility (OUP, 2009), Act and Crime (OUP, 1993), and Law and Psychiatry (CUP, 1984).

The author is one of the leading Anglo-American legal theorists, and this text is a distillation of many years' work in the field of criminal law theory Broad scope and interdisciplinary approach allows careful analysis of the wide-ranging questions in criminal law theory