positivism Flashcards
what does modern criminology begin with?
positivist criminology
what are the 3 underpinning ideas in positivist criminology?
- phrenology
- physiognomy
- criminal anthropology
who is considered as the founding father of criminal anthropology?
Cesare Lombroso
what did criminal anthropologists see criminals as?
physically anomalous human type
true or false - criminal anthropologists believed that criminals were marked by anomalies that signified their physical, mental and social backwardness
true
what is physiognomy?
a persons behaviour can be predicted through their physical appearance
where can the idea of physiognomy be traced back to?
ancient greece but gained popularity 1700s onwards
who was the most famous proponent of physiognomy?
Johann Casper Lavater
what did Lavater write?
essays on physiognomy
when was essay on physiognomy published?
in English by 1795
what did lavater try other than turn physiognomy into?
a science or a knowledge of the correspondence between the external and internal man, the visible superifices and the invisible contents
what were pocket lavaters?
illustrated, pocked sized versions of essays of physiognomy, which people used to gauge the character of new acquaintances and passer-by
what was phrenology?
a 19th century means of reading and determining character from bumps on the head and from the contours of the skull
what did phrenologists make the first systematic efforts to identify?
biological causes of crime and present science visually
who was a key author in the area of phrenology?
Franz Joseph Gall
what are the 5 concepts to phrenology?
- the brain is the organ of the mind
- the brain is an aggregation of about 301 separate organs or faculties i.e. combativeness, covetiveness and destructiveness
- the more active an organ, the larger its size
- the relative size of the organs can be estimated by inspecting the contours of the skull
- the relative size of the organs can be increased or decreased through exercise and self-discipline
who argues that each of our mental abilities were located in individual portions of the brain
Gall
true or false - each portion of the brain functions independently
true
true or false - one of the brain’s “faculties” or “organs” can be normal while another lies dormant or atrophies
true
what is deterministic doctrine?
this who practised phrenology beloved that crime was not the product of free will but down to abnormal organisation of the brain
What was the trend in the 1800s regarding crime and criminal behaviour?
There was a clear drive towards, and hunger for, scientific explanation of crime and criminal behaviour
Who provided a framework for explaining criminal behavior through rationality?
Beccaria and Bentham
How is utilitarianism described in relation to psychological or social theories?
not a full blown psychological or social theory
What was a limitation of the work of Beccaria and Bentham?
work of Beccaria and Bentham
was not empirically supported