Sociology 2266A/B Chapter Notes -Roscoe Pound, Sociology Of Law, Crime Spree
10 Feb 2013
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Document Summary
Until recent times writings and studies were based on the criminal itself, recently the focus has been changed and it has been discovered that crime is relative to different legal systems. Many criminologists now concentrate on how criminal definitions are constructed and applied in society. There are two schools of thought when it comes to crime. These two schools of thought in fact compliment each other. We have no reason to believe in the objective existence of anything therefore we must create theories that give meaning to our experience. Epistemology, we as observers cannot copy anything that may be regarded as objective reality. Our observations are based on our own mental constructions. Causation, a lot of criminological theory is based on positivistic assumptions which has sought to explain the cause of crime. The first is that the explanation not be the soul interest of criminologists.
