SOCI 2450 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Cesare Beccaria, Scientific Method, Class Conflict
19 Jun 2020
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Academic discipline using scientific methods to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior. Definition: scientific study of the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior and society"s reaction to law violations and violators. Historical views: european middle ages, classic, positivist, sociological, conflict. Violations of social norms or religious practices caused by witches or possession (demons) Very harsh penalties after conviction: 900 witches burned to death. Cesare beccaria: systematic understanding of why people engage in crime. Main elements: risk vs. reward, people have free will to choose crime/lawful behavior, criminal solutions must be more attractive than lawful ones, criminal solution controlled by fear of punishment, more swift+ certain+ severe punishment to control behavior. Innovative: scientific method to study human/criminal behavior. Definition: branch of social sciences that uses scientific method of the natural sciences, behavior (criminal) product of social biological psychological economic forces.
