SOC205H5 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Ford Focus, Positivism, Criminology
SOC205H5
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
SOC 205: Lecture #1
What is Criminological Theory
1) Some focus on individuals commit crime + why they do it (and/or what stops them)
2) Some focus on social construction of crime + criminals (including which actions are
made illegal + how law is differentially enforced); unpacking the role of the state in
producing (re-producing) power + inequality
3) Some focus on how crime + punishment shape society + how society shapes crime and
punishment
Edward Sutherland (1924)
- Criminology is the body of knowledge regarding crime as a social phenomenon
- It includes within its scope the process of making laws + of breaking laws + of reaction
toward the breaking of laws
- The object of criminology is the development of a body of general + verified principles +
other types of knowledge regarding the process of law + crime + treatment
Early Pre-Classical Theories
- Early theories of crime tended to locate the cause of crime within individuals- in their
souls + wills + bodies
- Hea fous i Weste soieties o Judeo-Christian norms + biblical values and mores
Spiritual Explanations
- Stressed the conflict btw good + evil
o Ppl who committed crimes were thought to be possessed by evil spirits (sinful
demons)
o Deil ade e do it eplaatios
- may seem trite OR antiquated, but consider its lasting consequences
o ppl still ioke eligio + god = otio of eil
o a still thik of iials as ppl ho ake ad O‘ eil hoies
- the major problem with spiritualistic explanations is that they cannot be tested
scientifically or validated empirically
Spirituality + Punishment
- punishment by spirits through famine + droughts
- punishment to evil included torture
- use of trial by ordeal; those who survive were innocent
- The late stated to use the ppl to testif the aused ioee
Limitation of Spirituality theories
- No method of testing these theories or explanation
- No way to prove that Satan or demons were responsible
- Had to revolts by the citizens because of the use of extreme torture + punishment linked
with spirituality
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
History of Classical Theory
- Product of Enlightenment period (mid 1700)
- Bureaucratic response to criminal procedure
- Ideas + motivation of classical theories were the enlightenment
- Enlightenment
o Human thought
o Reason + individualism rather than religion + truth
o Advance in scientific thought
o Respond to the problem of religion belief
o Opposed superstition
The values of society should be based on freedom + democratic society
Enlightenment brought democratic society
Classical & Neo-Classical School
Historical Context of Classical School of Criminology
The Enlightenment
Aept the poe of the soeeig o ollapse ito a state of a
THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCT
- Social contract theory is a key element of Enlightenment thought (circa 1620s-1780s)
- Ceatig a just soiet that alaes feedo + ights ith oligatios + the soial
good
- Critical Thinkers
o Hobbes
▪ Members of society are equal
▪ no kings should have the authority to rule
▪ Without social contract; there would be war
▪ Civil war would be avoided by a strong social contract
o Locke
▪ We are all moral beings; but we need protection in such liberty + life?
▪ Ol i …. Is the kig peitted to ule
o Rousseau
▪ People are born free + man should not surrender to slavery
▪ The leader should be voted by the people
Critiques of Enlightenment
- Led to totalitarian
- Substituted one form of to another faith from religion to reason?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
C(cid:396)eati(cid:374)g a (cid:858)just(cid:859) so(cid:272)iet(cid:455) that (cid:271)ala(cid:374)(cid:272)es f(cid:396)eedo(cid:373) + (cid:396)ights (cid:449)ith o(cid:271)ligatio(cid:374)s + the (cid:858)so(cid:272)ial good(cid:859) Is the ki(cid:374)g pe(cid:396)(cid:373)itted to (cid:396)ule: rousseau, people are born free + man should not surrender to slavery, the leader should be voted by the people. Reaction to the treatment of crime + punishment. 6: proportionality the punishment should fit the crime, not the criminal. Punishment must be a certainty + quick (hard to enforce) should be certain (high degree of certainty that they will be punished: crucial to promote deterrence, eg) south africa (ppl knew they are not gna get caught) 7: offender should be viewed as an independent + reasonable individual who are aware of the consequences of the crime crime is a product of rational decision. The (cid:396)athe(cid:396) u(cid:374)(cid:272)o(cid:373)pli(cid:272)ated (cid:448)ie(cid:449) of (cid:858)(cid:396)atio(cid:374)al (cid:373)a(cid:374)(cid:859) did (cid:374)ot full(cid:455) a(cid:374)s(cid:449)e(cid:396) the (cid:395)uestio(cid:374) of what caused crime. Specific deterrence: deter the specific person to commit crime again (reduce recidivism)
