classicism Flashcards
what does the emergence of the classical school of criminology coincide with?
the period of enlightenment/age of reason
what period was prior to the age of reason?
pre-enlightenment
what were punishments for transgression under the pre-enlightenment lie?
arbitrary, extreme and cruel
pre-enlightenment punishments characterised by the frequent use of what?
torture methods, death penalty and arbitrary rules
where theory and practise with regards to criminal law linear?
no
true or false - in England, stealing fruit which had already been gathered was a felony but stealing fruit by gathering it from an orchid was an act of trespassing
true
true or false - to steal goods from a shop and to be seen doing so resulted in transportation, to steal them without being seen was punishable by death
true
what were 4 forms of punishment in pre-enlightenment?
- gibbeting
- burning at the stake
- use of the pillory and ducking stool
- hanging
what was punishment in the form of execution seen as?
a spectacle, where large crowds being drawn for executions
what was attending a public hanging seen as?
a day out as a form of entertainment
what could spectators buy on the days of public hangings?
hot pies and ballads written about the individual being hung
what was pre-enlightenment seen as on a whole?
painful, humiliating, life threatening and disproportionate
what was the legal system seen as during pre-enlightenment?
uncertain, corrupt, tyrannical, and utilised at the whims of the authorities
true or false - the sentences imposed during pre-enlightenment were inconsistent and depended upon the status and the power of the convicted
true
what are the 2 key figures in the classical school of criminology?
- Cesare Beccaria
- Jeremy Bentham
what were Beccaria and Bentham the founders of?
the classical school of criminology
when did the solid idea of criminology begin?
1800s (19th century)
did criminology as a discipline exists when Beccaria was writing in the 1700s?
no
which scholar did not see Beccaria or Bentham as criminologists?
Garland
when was the phrase ‘classical criminology’ ceased?
the 1870s
who wrote and published ‘Crimes and Punishment’ in 1764, at the age of 26?
Cesare Beccaria
what did the book ‘Crimes and Punishment’ challenge?
the consensus surrounding law and punishment which had existed for hundreds of years
true or false - people argue that Beccaria should have been more critical of the current system, considering that criticising the long established ways of doing things was a popular pastime during the Enlightenment
true
did Beccaria contend everything about the existing methods of applying the law in society at the time?
yes
what were the 3 key ideas of Beccaria?
- utilitarianism
- deterrence
- social contract
what calculation did Beccaria apply to his work?
utilitarian calculation
what did Beccaria state about the expectation of pain to follow the crime from immediate apprehension, trial and punishment would lead to?
the prevention of crime and enable legislator to avoid the use of severe punishments
what was Beccaria anxious to see?
crime and punishment closely associated with the punishment inflicted as soon as possible after the crime was committed
what did Beccaria’s scale of crimes show?
those that threatened the bonds of society itself at the top and the smallest injustice to the individual
what is social contract according to Beccaria?
if all individual members are bound to society, society is, in turn, bound to them by a binding contract of mutual obligation
what was Beccaria quote on social contract?
This obligation, which reaches from the throne to the hovel and which is equally binding on the greatest and the most wretched of men, means nothing other than that it is in everybody’s interest that the contracts useful to the greatest number should be observed. Their violation, even by one person, opens the door to anarchy
what does Beccaria’s quote mean in simple terms regarding social contract?
the social contract is an informal and intangible agreement which each member of society enters into in order to avoid chaos
what does Beccaria state about citizens and their liberty regarding the state?
they surrender a portion of their liberty to the state, in the turn, the state protects their right to security and place
what does Beccaria state regarding citizens surrendering liberty?
there is no enlightened man who does not love the open, clear, and useful contracts of public security when he compares the slight portion of useful liberty that he has sacrificed to the total sum of all the liberty sacrificed by other men
is there a transaction occurring when citizens sacrifices some of their liberty for state protection?
yes
true or false - people coming together and creating a civil society freely, it is therefore, the job of the law, and legal punishment, to ensure that society continues to exist
true
what does the social contract create?
order in society
although social contract is good and creates an agreement, Beccaria states that it isn’t enough to do what?
stop members of society from committing crime
if someone commits a crime what does Beccaria state they should receive?
a punishment for their transgression
if people were to receive punishment for their transgression what did Beccaria state that the law needs to be?
clear, unambiguous, fixed and understandable for the populace
what as Beccaria quote regarding the law being clear to punishment individuals for their transgression?
the greater the number of people who understand the sacred law code and who have it in their hands, the less frequent crimes will be, for there is no doubt that ignorance and uncertainty concerning punishment aid the eloquence of the passions
what is the goal of society which is useful as it enables [citizens] to calculate precisely the ill consequences of a misdeed?
to acquire personal ‘security’
what is the backbone of Beccaria’s ideas based around?
the concept of utilitarianism
what was the driving force behind the changes to the cis which Beccaria suggested?
utilitarianism
was Beccaria an advocate for deterrence?
yes
what does Beccaria state is the end goal of punishment?
prevent the criminal from doing further injury to society and prevent others from committing the like offence
does Beccaria state that punishments should be public, prompt, necessary, the minimum possible under the circumstances [and] proportionate to the crimes
yes
what is deterrence based upon according to Beccaria?
pleasure-pain principle, which assumes that people act to secure pleasure and will avoid behaviours that produce pain
what is Beccaria’s theory of criminal behaviour rooted in?
the idea that people have free will and are hedonistic
what does Beccaria state the only legitimate purpose for punishment is?
deterrence
how can the evil harm from punishment be justified according to utilitarian views?
the necessary condition of some greater good, benefit or happiness that exceeds the evil of punishment
what does Bedua state that ideal punishment achieves?
maximum social benefit at the cost of the minimum social harm
what does Beccaria state that punishment should conform as closely as possible to what?
the nature of crime
does Beccaria agree with capital punishment?
no he is opposed to it as the punishment should be proportionate to the crime
did Beccaria see capital punishment as a sufficient deterrent?
no it was cruel
what sentence did Beccaria state was a strong enough deterrence?
a life sentence
who was an ardent follower and fascinated by Beccaria’s work?
Jeremy Bentham
who was associated with the doctrine of utilitarianism?
Jeremy Bentham
what did Bentham state that ultimately motivates us?
pleasure and pain
what did Bentham state happens was?
a matter of experiencing pleasure and the lack of pain
what did Bentham state regarding sanctions?
they are negative and therefore must be limited in order, to produce the desired results - they should be used to match the offence but also understandable and predictable to the offender
who is said to be the founder of ‘modern utilitarianism’?
Jeremy Bentham
what did Bentham stress the importance of Beccaria as?
a precursor of his own theoretical approach
what 3 ideas did Bentham agree with Beccaria on?
- certainty
- severity
- consistency in punishment
true or false - Bentham agreed with the goal of deterrence as the key reason behind the justification for penal sanction
true
did Bentham care for Beccaria’s concept of the social contract?
no
what ideas did Beccaria and Bentham differ from?
the form that punishment should take
what did Bentham see imprisonment as?
means of reform
what did Beccaria see imprisonment as?
he had no interest in imprisonment
what did Bentham argue regarding the deterrent theory?
a sophisticated method of proportioning punishment to offence
how did Bentham consolidate the nascent utilitarian theory of Beccaria?
- assessing the spread or distribution of pain
- drawing up 13 rules for the equating of punishment to the offence
what did Beccaria state regarding the extent of harm inflicted by criminal behaviour was dependent on?
motive, circumstances the intention of how the act was carried out
what did Beccaria state was necessary to frame for each citizens?
a special code and a new law for each particular crime
what was one of Bentham’s key ideas?
the panopticon
whose idea was the panopticon?
Samuel Bentham - Jeremy’s brother
was Bentham’s prison ever built?
no, but there are versions of it
what is the panopticon?
ideal version of a prison where a circular building is used and individual cells are around the perimeter
how are the windows designed in a panopticon?
the occupants are clearing indivisible to the central inspection tower, though it is opaque to them
how does Foucault describe Bentham’s panopticon model?
power no longer needs to unleash its sanctions, and instead it objects take it upon themselves to behave in the desired manner
what would cellular confinement produced according to Bentham?
solitary and sequestered individuals
where did Bentham state that panopticons should be built?
beyond city walls but freely available to the public to visit and inspect
what did Bentham state should be built next to the panopticon?
an inn to provide refreshments for the anticipated visitors
what school came after the classical school?
neo-classical school
what was the aim of the Neo-classical school?
revise issues raised by critiques of the classical school
which 3 individuals were part of the Neo-classical school?
- Rossi
- Garaud
- Joly
what is one changed that the Neo-classical school enabled?
humans commit crime in a solely rational fashion
what did the first change of the Neo-classical school allow?
mitigating circumstances when punishing the offender
why did Neo-classical enable regarding responsibility for any crime committed?
room was made for contextual factors which may have contributed to the individual committing crime
what was the second change that neo-classical school enabled?
neo-classicists took the solely rational man of classicist criminology and gave him a past and the future
what did both of these amendments encourage juries to consider regarding criminal behaviour? (3 points)
- biographical
- historical
- social context
what did Neo-classicists state regarding an individuals background in explaining criminal behaviour?
physical, mental and social background need to be considered
where the revisions made by Neo-classical school as effective as assumed?
no, for example the concept of free will was strictly adhered to
which 2 people developed the rational choice theory?
Clarke and Cornish
where is the rational choice theory firmly rooted?
within the classical school and is a contemporary version of what classical scholars suggested 100 of years previously
what are the 3 concept of rational choice theory?
- crime benefits the offender
- peoples rationality is bounded
- offenders focus on situational opportunities
what is meant by crime benefiting the offender? (RCT)
crime brings pleasure
what is meant by people rationality is bounded? (RCT)
we gather, store and use information imperfectly and we tend to focus on immediate gains, not long-term costs
what is meant by offenders focus on the situational opportunities? (RCT)
criminals are opportunistic
what is the underlying principle of rational choice theory?
people weigh up the benefits and rewards of committing a crime before they commit it
what analysis occurs when individual weigh up the cost and benefits of committing a crime? (RCT)
cost benefit analysis - prior to committing the crime
what are costs in RCT?
averse outcomes an individual may experience if they offend
what is an example of a cost of committing a crime? (RCT)
paying a fine, losing a friend, shame, going to jail
what are benefits in RCT?
rewards a person may experiences as a result off their offending behaviour
what is an example of a benefit of committing a crime? (RCT)
feeling excited, social approval, free goods
what happens when benefits outweigh the cost of committing a crime? (RCT)
they choose to engage in criminal behaviour
what does RCT situate offenders as?
decision makers
what is crime defined as according to RCT?
the outcome of the offender’s choices or decisions, however hasty or ill-considered these might be
do offenders have all information necessary to make the best possible decision? (RCT)
no as they rational choice the offender makes is never fully informed
when we talk about ‘rational’ does it always mean ‘… careful thinking and sensible decisions by someone’s standard’?
no
what 2 factors does RCT present offenders as?
- goal orientated and make rational calculations
- influenced by factors associated with the potential crime situation
what does the RCT focus on?
the offenders decision making and assumes the behaviour is purposive and all offenders have goals before committing a crime
true or false - offenders rarely have a full picture of all the various costs and benefits of the crime
true
what is a critique of Bentham and Beccaria regarding their background?
they both come from wealthy backgrounds, Beccaria was a member of the Italian aristocracy
what were Beccaria and Bentham criticised for regarding their writing?
writing to bourgeois interests, Beccaria was accused of being an aristocratic spokesman for a bourgeois ideology
what did Marx refer to Bentham as? (critique)
insipid, pendant, leather-tongued oracle of the ordinary bourgeois intelligence of the 19th century
were Beccaria and Bentham interested in exploring the causes of criminal behaviour? (critique)
no
true or false - there was not much recognition from either the authors as to why people might commit crime beyond weighing up of pleasure versus pain (critique)
true
