History of Positivism
Classical School had empirical issues; economic and societal changes
Industrial revolutions
Unsatisfied with classical explanation
Foundations of Positivism
Empirical scientific investigation for the improvement of society"
Individuation
Differentiation
Quantification
Scientific Neutrality
Pathology - Criminals are different in a negative way
Deteminism
Consensus Model, humans are inherently social
Individua
Determinism
Largest difference of classical school
People are born a certain way
As Positivism has evolved, it has become less of this
Atavism
Criminals are like cavemen
Based on genetic material and characteristics
"Genetic throwback"
Phyiscal features
Somatotyping
William Sheldon (1940s)
Body typing
Body is linked to:
Behavior
Temperament
Life expectancy
Endomorphic, Mesomorphic, and Ectomorphic types of bodies
People with Mesomorphic bodies are more likely to commit crime
Crime as Hereditary
Richard Dugdale, The Jukes
Criminality is hereditary
Degeneration
Earnest Hooton
He made/focuses on:
Crime and the Man (1939 - Don't need to know this date)
Sociological explanations not important
Point of seperation for criminology - Eugenics
Phrenology
Sizes of brain areas are meaningful
Franz Joseph Gall and Johann Spurzheim
Criminal Anthropology
Measures facial/body features to determine personality
Physiognomists
Individuals who classify criminals from facial characteristics
Psychological Determinism
Physicians (psychiatrists)
Biological/mental link to crime
"Manie sans d�lire" or Moral Insanity
People lack moral reasoning temporarily
NOT crazy and seeing things
1827
Year the french statistical collection called "Compte" that mapped crime-heavy regions in France
Sociological Determinism
Compte" - Statistical collection of France: mapped crime-heavy regions in France
Crime, poverty, social ills documented
"Moral statistics"
Quetelet and Guerry
Gabriel Tarde
He made/focused on:
Rejected Lombroso (not as deterministic)
Still a part of sociological determinism
Law of imitation: people copy behavior the same way they copy dress
3 Principles of Gabriel Tarde
Individuals imitate in proportion to the intensity and frequency of contacts
Inferiors imitate superiors
When 2 behaviors clash, one may take place of the other
Durkheim
Prioritized social structure and institutions
Said some crime is necessary because it helps people figure out what they are and are not okay with, and provides a reason to band together
Evaluated punishment based on harm done
Defined Anomie
Positivist School Contributions
Mitigating circumstances - What increased their likelihood of committing crime?
Emphasis: Rehabilitation, Reformation, Classification, and Medicalization
"Science" - numbers, scientific method
Positivism Criticisms
If behavior is determined, it cannot be prevented
Absolute objectivity is not attainable
Assumption of Consensus Model realistic?
Ignores human agency, or free will