Classicalism vs. Positivism

The Classical school of criminology can be known as the free will to act at one’s own discretion, where an individual chooses to break the law upon a desirable choice. The Classical emphasizes how the system was organized, punishments for crime, and how authorities should react to crime. On the other hand, positivist school was created to see what influences an individual to break the laws, based on human beings’ behavior. Positivist school is simply trying to analyze who, what, and how crime is initiated. This study will identify the schools’ argument, and if they complement each other, the advantages and disadvantages, and the different approaches or points of view from multiple criminologist regarding the schools and theories.

Criminology and the criminal justice system have framed a “taken-for-granted, common-sense” understanding of ‘crime’ and the ‘criminal’ (Tierney, 2010). ‘Crime’ is commonly understood as a violation of the criminal law; originating from religion and the sin of God and then moving towards Classicalism. Classicalism rests on the assumption of free will and recognises rational choice of the individual. It influences much of our system of justice today; especially aspects of due process. It argues that criminality is therefore part of nature; and order is maintained through law and punishments. We can see this through Beccaria’s approach of certainty, celerity and severity (Beccaria, cited in Newburn, 2013, pp116). Positivism, associated with theorists such as Lombroso, offered more of a scientific approach in identifying the causes of crime and could recognise impaired ability such as mental illness. It argues that ‘crime’ is

Criminology has emerged as a science in the recent years, and various theories and perspectives have been developed by the social scientists and criminologists in this regard. With the development of sociology as a new subject of study and defining the sociology by the August Comte in 1822, the way was paved for the development of criminology, as the new branch of study. This Branch deals with the study of crime and it gradually developed as academic discipline in Britain in 1950s. Cesare Lombroso became the founder of criminology which also founded the positivist movement in the criminology, thus giving this field a more scientific and modern approach (Anon., 2014). The main features of the positivist approach include the

Criminology is a complex subject chock-full of theories that attempt to explain crime and criminal behavior. Each base theory has several branches of theory which expand upon and compliment their predecessors. Even some of the sub-theories have branches of theories.

The Positivist School of criminology began in the late 19th century and is still a part of society today. The Positivist School suggests that in order to control crime, you have to use scientific methods to look for the causes of crime. Some important developments the theory included were controlling human behavior, controlling criminal behavior, industrial revolutions, the emergence of modern science, and finally Darwin's theory of evolution. Many assumptions had been made, but a few in particular stood out to be the most important. Theorists said that human nature is determined before you are even born. Also that it is differentiated which means that criminals are different from non-criminals. The five methodologies are based on biological characteristics that may cause the criminals to commit the crimes they based on certain characteristics. The first method is physiognomy. This judges character by facial features as well as physical features. It can be traced back to Ancient Greece and Rome. The second is

In that case, punishment is ineffective and treatment and rehabilitation are what is needed. The issue with positivism is that an assumption is made that only the undersocialised commit crime. However, crime can be committed by individuals from all areas of society. Positivism does not take into account human agency and the creativity that can be found in human beings; it only reduces the crime problem to a simple predictable, set out from the start, destiny.

Theories of criminology were developed centuries ago so people can go in depth to seek what cause crime and why. In some cases these theories can eve go to the extent to prevent the crimes from happening again. Over the years more theories have been developed and the theories that have already been developed have been added to so they fit a larger spectrum. What cause a person to commit a crime and why would they commit a certain crime over another? These theories that have been developed give us an insight to the answer of these questions. These theories are used so Criminologist can have a better understanding of crime such as the Ferguson, Missouri riots that took place after the August of 2014.

Criminology is a subdivision of sociology and it draws information from psychology, biology, and statistics that dwells mostly on expanding knowledge on the real causes of criminal activities among the people. Moreover, its findings are very crucial in that they influence legislatures in making the law, judges in giving out justice, lawyers in defending their client, and prosecutors in prosecuting people in a court of law. Those professionals are able to understand crime in a different angle hence developing more efficient and humane sentences and treatment of criminal activities in the society. In criminology, investigating why people engage in crime is very crucial so that it will help to come up with ways of preventing crime (Conklin, 1981).

Classical criminological theory was introduced in 1764. The tenants of this theory became the backbone for the development of all criminological theories to come. After over 200 years have passed since its conception, is classical criminological theory still relevant to today’s society in explaining the causes of crime? This essay will address this question by discussing the major components of classical criminological theory while highlighting its strengths and weaknesses. The essay will also examine a more modern criminological theory, Merton’s anomie/strain theory, and decipher major differences between the two theories. This essay will also explain the aspects of classical criminological theory that are applicable or outdated in their

Individual positivism and social positivism are institutions in which modern criminology is grounded. The term ‘modern criminology’ might sound odd, as modern criminology is regarding 18th century period and its rational principles to control society to bring composure and order (Garland 1996, 2000). Modern criminology with rational system of control; where the rule of law based on the belief people exercise choice. “The ethos of productivity was rejected in the age & society of leisure. Mind expanding drugs, permissive sexuality, the new rock music & transcendental poetry all articulated the peaceful principles of a ‘flower power’ whose opposition was committedly non-violent ” (Sumner, 1994:200).

Classical criminology is a way of looking at rational behaviour and free will. This approach was developed in the 18th century and early 19th century and they intended to establish a clear and legitimate criminal justice system based on equality for all. Positivist criminology is based on the understanding of crime and criminology, and its basic concept is based on the decision of behaviour. There are two types of positivists who seek to explain crimes and misinterpretations: biologics and psychological positivism. The origins of positivism and the two interrelated developments started in the nineteenth century.

Within this field, there are three types of ideas of why crime is caused, biological, psychological, or sociological reasons. Among the types there are many sub-theories, and these form the basis of reasons for criminal activity. Most types of criminals and criminal activity can be placed in one of these groups, however as our society advances so do the theories so what is a reason one day, may be completely or partially disqualified based on new evidence or findings of what works and doesn’t work to reduce a relapse, which is one of the main functions of the

Criminology Edwin Sutherland defined criminology as ‘the study of the making of laws, the breaking of laws and societies reaction to the breaking of laws’. Criminologists study why we have crimes within society, approaches to dealing with crime and theories of explaining crime. (Hall S, 2012) There are two main schools of thought within criminology, Classicism and Posivitism. Classicism came about during the 1700’s a key thinker during this time was Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794)

The study of criminology is a complex approach to the criminal justice system that uses preemptive theories as a means to decipher why criminals commit crimes. When law enforcement agents begin to think about criminal behavior in the perspective of the criminal they begin to surface the reasons why an individual would decide to break the law. The study of criminology focuses both root cause of the deviant behavior and the effects that crimes have on society (American Military University, last visited Apr 10, 2018). The primary focuses points of criminology are the locations times and frequency of crimes in relations to consequence and reactions these crimes have on an individual and society as a whole (What is Criminology?, Retrieved April

In positivist criminology, a person commits a crime because outside factors influenced them. For example, a person is more likely to commit a crime if they live in poverty. In today’s society, it is easier for someone to rob or steal rather than to get a job and work for their money. Not to mention, it is harder for those who live in poverty to get jobs since most employers only want the best of the best working for their company. Living in poverty can also affect a person’s mentality. Trying to figure out how to overcome poverty can be stressful, and this can take a toll on people’s mental health and cause them to commit acts that they wouldn’t have committed if they were in their normal state of mind.