Criminology: The Classical Theory Vs. Positivist Theory

Luzelenia Santiago

Criminology

Assignment 1

September 21, 2017

Classical Theory vs Positivist Theory

The classical and positivist approaches to criminology theory were both highly influential in their definition of dealing with criminal punishment. Through understanding, the reasons a person commits a crime, one can come up with ways to prevent and control crime. There are many theories in which some link crime to a person. Positivist theory is a philosophical theory stating that positive knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations. Classical theory rooted from the theories of the Italian nobleman and economist Cesare Beccaria and an English philosopher, Jeremy Bentham.

In the classical theory, the core ideas

He classified criminals in four main categories. First, born criminals are simply those who can be distinguished by their physical atavistic characteristics. Second, the category insane criminals includes idiots, imbeciles, alcoholics and etc. Third, occasional criminals who commit crimes in response to available opportunities. Fourth, criminals of passion are those motivated to commit crime because of anger, love or honor.

Beccaria published one essay, On Crimes and Punishments, in this essay, he wrote that criminal behavior could be minimized using the basics of human nature. He argued that the current barbaric system of punishing criminals needed to be reformed into a less harsh, yet more effective one. He states the essence of his ideas, “In order for punishment not to be, in every instance, an act of violence of one or of many against a private citizen, it must be essentially public, prompt, necessary, the least possible in the given circumstances, proportionate to the crime, dictated by the laws” (Constituation

In the eighteenth century, before the introduction of classicism, criminal punishment was torturous and barbaric, which only began to change after the ideas of classicism became known. Torture and capital punishment began to decline by the nineteenth century as people began to believe in a more humane way of punishing criminals. Similarly, most theorists presumed that punishment for criminals should not be extremely harsh and that rehabilitation was the way to reduce crime. For example, Lombroso thought that criminals should be provided with treatments to change their ways so that they can become a positive person