Demonology, Criminology, the Pathological Perspective, and Sadism
Demonology, Criminology, the Pathological Perspective, and Sadism No matter what happens in our lives, our bodies will always be surrounded or involved in numerous acts of deviance. Whether someone acts under the influence of the devil, or if we do something to bring pleasure to ourselves, something will be seen as deviant behavior. Whether it is caused or chosen, deviant behavior is a regular part of life. Every deviant has logic behind his or her behavior. Whether they do it for power, control, hatred, or anger, there is some type of reasoning for their actions. Why demonic deviants seen as evil? Why is sadism silenced? Why is deviance looked at as a bad thing? Demonic deviance rose in the middle as a way to describe those who were acting against G-d. Those who did not follow word of G-d were seen as sinners who were impacted by the presence of the devil in their souls. Deviants, as Stephen Pfohl says, act deviant either “through temptation or through possession” (Images of Deviance and Social control 22). A tempted deviant is taken over and made weaker “by the multiple forms taken by the devil – sloth, anger, lust, pride, envy, gluttony, greed” (Images of Deviance and Social control 23). Possession, the second way to deviance, is when a person is possessed by the devil, or legitimately taken over and controlled by the devil. The devil has a part in every act of deviance making the person harm the victim and G-d. As time moved forward, theorist in the eighteenth century started to rule out demonic deviance, as it was not rational. These theorists were seen as classical theorists. As Pfohl puts is, “Deviance, like any other human act, was viewed as a freely calculated choice to maximize pleasure and minimize pain” (Images of Deviance and Social control 63). The society was connected through a social contract, in which every member gave up a little bit of liberty. Deviance was seen as acts going against that social contract. This outlook on deviance gave a