CRM 1301 Lecture Notes - Ecological Fallacy, Circular Reasoning, Old Testament
23 Nov 2013
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Document Summary
Different times, different places, means different behaviors: knowledge on crime is based on context (context bound) Criminological theories: nature of power/authority relationship, socio-economic, political, intellectual and personal context of theorists. What is a theory: tool that allows us to decide what something is and how to act towards it. Theoretical focuses: macro: explains social structure and its effect, micro: focuses on the individual or small group, some events can be looked at as either macro or micro. Not good criteria: popularity: problem, illogical, based on selective data and evidence, ignores complexity of human beings and society, legitimized through repetition (media) Common theoretical fallacies: ecological fallacy: making assumptions about individuals based on a generalization on a certain group of people, tautology: circular logic, cause and effect are same. Antiquity city states: greece, sparta = all about war, athens = birth of democracy, focus on philosophy and art, lots of slaves.
