Debates between the advocates of past- and future-oriented punishment philosophies have been around as long as societies and systems of punish¬ments have been around. Variants of both approaches are found in the writings of the ancient Greeks, in the teachings and laws of the major religions, in the flowering of political and moral philosophy in the Renais¬sance and Enlightenment periods, and new formulations of both perspec¬tives continue to be produced. Contemporary debates will be reviewed in Chapter 4.