SOCI 2205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Occupy Movement, Totalitarianism, Blue-Collar Worker
27 Jun 2018
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Early Theories of Deviance and Crime
The Classical School
As a result of the Enlightenment, crime and deviance, which had previously
been explained by reference to mythological influences and spiritual
shortcomings were seen to be product of the exercise of free will
Once human-kind was seen to be self-determining, crime came to be explained
as a particularly individualized form of evil, or moral wrongdoing fed by
PERSONAL CHOICE
oMeans that people are capable of directing their own actions
Cesare Becarria (1738-1794)
Born into the barbaric and representative law of the 18th century, based on a
historic ideology represented by the “theology of the Church Fathers and the
doctrine of the divine right of kings”, Beccaria was part of a group of reformers
who challenged these ideas
oThe Church had all the power
oIf anyone questioned this they got in trouble
Based on the idea of the SOCIAL CONTRACT
oWe agree that we will live under the laws of the land in exchange for
safety
The administration of law at this time permitted and encouraged incredibly
arbitrary and abusive practices
Prosecutors and judges were allowed enormous latitude in decision-making, and
corruption was rampant
oSecret accusations and torture were not uncommon
oJudges had autonomy to the degree that they were afforded unlimited
discression in meting out punishment
o“community standing” (status) had a direct influence on justice
oJustice, to all intents and purposes, was RELATIVE
Beccaria’s basic philosophy was that “the rights of man had to be protected
against the corruption and excesses of existing institutions”
In the same war, society had to be protected against the natural inclinaitons of
man
Thus a social contract was necessary:
oA state must emerge that would control behaviour through fear of pain
Pain of incarceration
Not necessarily physical pain
oPunishment was the primary method used to instill fear
oCitizens would voluntarily give up some of their rights for the security the
state would give them (i.e. Not living in Hobbes’ ‘state of nature’)
oThis social contract would ensure that all citizens were treated equally
under the law
Becarria also pioneered the concept of UTILITARIANISM- the greatest good for
the greatest number
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find more resources at oneclass.com
oHe believed that the social contract, although restricting a citizen’s
behaviour, did so in the best interests of the society
o“the needs of the many must outweigh the needs of the few, or the one”
thus, the state has responsibilities to the citizens to pass laws and determine
punishments as prescribed by law in such a way that all people are treated fairly
these ideas are referred to as CLASSICAL CRIMINOLGY with several basic
elements:
o1. In every society, people have free will choose criminal or lawful
solutions to meet their needs or settle their problems
o2. criminal solutions may be more attractive than lawful ones because they
usually require less work for a greater payoff
o3. People’s choice of criminal solutions may be controlled by their fear of
punishment
o4. The more severe, certain, and swift the punishment, the better able it is
to control criminal behaviour
if people thought that if they were caught, they would be absolutely
punished, would they would be deterred?
but this is only if they get caught or don’t have a good lawyer
the legal system is currently very slow
we don’t know if this would help in Canada because we don’t have
this system
the classical perspective influenced judicial philosophy during much of the late
18th and 19th centuries
prisons began to be used as a form of punishment and sentences were geared
proportionately to the seriousness of the crime
capital punishment was still widely used but began to be employed for only the
most serious crimes
the motto was “let the punishment fit the crime”
oa move forward to actually looking at the crime
oeveryone that did the crime gets the same treatment
classical theory has ow evolved into rational choice and deterrence theories
Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909)
caused the shift from a focus on the CRIME to the CRIMINAL
during the course of his life, held many positions, including army physician,
psychiatrist and university professor
shortly after completing medical school, volunteered to be a physician in the
Italian army
measured and observed more than 3000 soldiers
later, as a psychiatrist at various mental hospitals, he systematically observed
mental patients in much the same way
omental illness= criminality at the time
Lombroso was influenced by the works of:
oAgustus Comte (positivist sociology)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
oBiological criminologists
oBenjamin Rush (the concept of moral insanity- psychopathy)
oQuetelet (first criminal statistician)
oCharles Darwin (evolution, natural selection, survival of the fittest)
Lombroso did not accept the Classical School’s approach that assumed man has
free will; it is clear that he believed man is determined
o“A man’s mode of feeling, and therewith the actual conduct of his life, are
determined by his physical constitution; and, on the other hand, that his
constitution must find expression in his bodily structure”
oBiological determinism
Key Ideas:
oATAVISM – A term characterizing those individuals who had not fully
evolved (also referred to as throwbacks)
Concluded that HEREDITY is the principal cause of criminal
tendencies
Indirect heredity:
The result of being born into a “genetically degenerate
family”
Examples of manifestations: insanity, deafness, syphilis,
epilepsy, alcoholism
A lot of these are not really passes on through genetics
Direct Heredity
When one is born into a family with criminal parentage
Can be aggravated by the environment as well as the
education a person receives
As well the physical anomalies that a person evidences,
there is also demonstration of the primitive man mentality
In general, criminals have no natural affection for family but show
“exaggerated and abnormal fondness for animals and strangers”
Without the normal affections for kin, the criminal is
“dominated by a few absorbing passions: vanity,
impulsiveness, desire for revenge, and licentiousness”
Criminals do not repent or show remorse unless there is
some advantage to be gained by it
He was studying psychopathy without realizing it
Psycopaths often connect with stranger and animals rather
than people within their own familial circle
What he is describing is a lot of other things
Most signifigant criticism of Lombroso’s work is that he did not use a control
group
oProblematic within the social sciences
oHe never just looked at normal people
oNever had anything to compare his findings with
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
As a result of the enlightenment, crime and deviance, which had previously been explained by reference to mythological influences and spiritual shortcomings were seen to be product of the exercise of free will. Once human-kind was seen to be self-determining, crime came to be explained as a particularly individualized form of evil, or moral wrongdoing fed by. Personal choice: means that people are capable of directing their own actions. Based on the idea of the social contract: we agree that we will live under the laws of the land in exchange for safety. The administration of law at this time permitted and encouraged incredibly arbitrary and abusive practices. Beccaria"s basic philosophy was that the rights of man had to be protected against the corruption and excesses of existing institutions . In the same war, society had to be protected against the natural inclinaitons of man.
