Criminology: The Classical School vs. The Positive School
CJC 112-201
Phillip Hosmer
02 March 2014
Classical School vs. Positive School
During the mid and late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century, as countries began to urbanise, crimes rates skyrocketed and punishments for crimes became severe. With many judicial systems becoming corrupted, the need for societal reform during this time was growing. The changes that were slowly brought about are strongly linked with the roots of modern criminal schools. Two major schools of thought have both significantly led to the development of today 's modern criminology: the classical school and the positivist school. Cesare Beccaria, “one of the first scholars to develop [an] understanding of why people commit crime,” is a notable theorist whose theories lead to the development of the classical school, which focused more on the individual and the belief that only that individual was responsible for their actions, not that an outside source could have influenced their behaviour (Siegel 9). The positivist school believes “that heredity can make criminal behaviour unavoidable or inevitable” for some individuals (The Positive School). Although the classical school began emerging during the eighteenth century, it was not until the nineteenth century that criminology gained respect as a valid scientific field of study; when the positivist school attempted to “use the scientific method to conduct research” on the causes of crime (Siegel 10).
Both the classical and positive schools include the observation of behaviour from which theories on what causes the behaviours were developed. With their proposed theories of human behaviour, each school sought to change the judicial system and sentencing of individuals who had been involved in criminal acts. The main idea shared by theorists in both schools of thought “involved isolating and correcting the specific [defects] that lead to his or her criminal behaviour,” and the need for a punishment that specifically
Phillip Hosmer
02 March 2014
Classical School vs. Positive School
During the mid and late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century, as countries began to urbanise, crimes rates skyrocketed and punishments for crimes became severe. With many judicial systems becoming corrupted, the need for societal reform during this time was growing. The changes that were slowly brought about are strongly linked with the roots of modern criminal schools. Two major schools of thought have both significantly led to the development of today 's modern criminology: the classical school and the positivist school. Cesare Beccaria, “one of the first scholars to develop [an] understanding of why people commit crime,” is a notable theorist whose theories lead to the development of the classical school, which focused more on the individual and the belief that only that individual was responsible for their actions, not that an outside source could have influenced their behaviour (Siegel 9). The positivist school believes “that heredity can make criminal behaviour unavoidable or inevitable” for some individuals (The Positive School). Although the classical school began emerging during the eighteenth century, it was not until the nineteenth century that criminology gained respect as a valid scientific field of study; when the positivist school attempted to “use the scientific method to conduct research” on the causes of crime (Siegel 10).
Both the classical and positive schools include the observation of behaviour from which theories on what causes the behaviours were developed. With their proposed theories of human behaviour, each school sought to change the judicial system and sentencing of individuals who had been involved in criminal acts. The main idea shared by theorists in both schools of thought “involved isolating and correcting the specific [defects] that lead to his or her criminal behaviour,” and the need for a punishment that specifically
Cited: Greek, Doctor Cecil. "The Classical School.." CCJ 5606-Criminological Theory. Florida State University, 22 November 2005. Web. 29 January 2014. -----"The Positive School: Biological and Psychological Factors." CCJ 5606-Criminological Theory. Florida State University, 22 November 2005. Web. 29 January 2014. Holmes, Ronald, Jeffrey R. Maahs and Gennaro F. Vito. Criminology: Theory, Research, and Policy. Canada: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2005. Print. Sanders, Clifford. "The History of Criminology." Criminology.com, 2014. Web. 29 January 2014. Siegel, Larry. Criminology the Core. Canada: Nelson Education Ltd., 2011. Print.