GRADE THE FOLLOWING ANSWERS ACCORDING TO THE EVALUATION CRITERIA.

I have included a question for this activity which we have not discussed in the course. Give a grade to each answer in light of the evaluation criteria.

Discuss the causes of criminality for classical school.

Sample answers

1. Classical criminology theory began in the Enlightenment, i.e., in the 18 century. Beccaria was a true law reformer. He single handedly transformed the criminal justice system of all Europe and indirectly of North America and the rest of the world. Beccaria condemned the torture of suspects.

2. Beccaria created classical school of criminology. I like sociological schools better.

3. The major tenet of classical school is that criminals have control over their behavior, they choose to commit crimes and they can be deterred by the threat of punishment. I agree with classical school.

4. Classical school of criminology was initiated by Italian scholar Cesare Beccaria, who advocated for a radical change in the legal system’s conception of crime in an Enlightened Europe. The major tenet of classical school –based on utilitarian social philosophy - is that criminals have control over their behavior, they choose to commit crimes and they can be deterred by the threat of punishment. Relying on Hobbes’ philosophical works, classical criminology holds that people act in a rational manner, and that they choose those actions that provide the greatest pleasure and the least pain. Thus, criminal behavior occurs when an offender decides to risk violating the law after considering the potential value of the criminal enterprise and the potentiality of being apprehended, as well as the severity and swiftness of the punishment. Classical theorists’ views on the causes of crime are premised on the notion that human beings have free will and that their actions are guided by hedonism, i.e., the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain. As depicted in the Pulp Fiction scene shown in class, for a classical criminologist, a potential criminal analyzes the benefits of the crime against the possible punishment before deciding whether or not to commit a crime.

5. Classical school of criminology was initiated by Italian scholar Cesare Beccaria, who advocated for a radical change in the legal system’s conception of crime in an Enlightened Europe. The major tenet of classical school –based on utilitarian social philosophy - is that criminals have control over their behavior, they choose to commit crimes and they can be deterred by the threat of punishment. Relying on Hobbes’ philosophical works, classical criminology holds that people act in a rational manner, and that they choose those actions that provide the greatest pleasure and the least pain. Thus, criminal behavior occurs when an offender decides to risk violating the law after considering the potential value of the criminal enterprise and the potentiality of being apprehended, as well as the severity and swiftness of the punishment. Classical theorists’ views on the causes of crime are premised on the notion that human beings have free will and that their actions are guided by hedonism, i.e., the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain. However, I believe that all human actions are not always rational. Besides, it is over-simplistic to blame exclusively the individual for her action and not take into account the role of the social environment. I mean, there are other factors that should be taken into account when dealing with the causes of crime. By placing its emphasis solely on the individual, classical school seems to ignore the role that poverty, broken families and an extremely egotistical capitalist state, to name but a few factors, play in creating criminality.

6. Classical school of criminology was initiated by Italian scholar Cesare Beccaria, who advocated for a radical change in the legal system’s conception of crime in an Enlightened Europe. The major tenet of classical school –based on utilitarian social philosophy - is that criminals have control over their behavior, they choose to commit crimes and they can be deterred by the threat of punishment. Relying on Hobbes’ philosophical works, classical criminology holds that people act in a rational manner, and that they choose those actions that provide the greatest pleasure and the least pain. Thus, criminal behavior occurs when an offender decides to risk violating the law after considering the potential value of the criminal enterprise and the potentiality of being apprehended, as well as the severity and swiftness of the punishment. Classical theorists’ views on the causes of crime are premised on the notion that human beings have free will and that their actions are guided by hedonism, i.e., the maximization of pleasure and the minimization of pain. As depicted in the Pulp Fiction scene shown in class, for a classical criminologist, a potential criminal analyzes the benefits of the crime against the possible punishment before deciding whether or not to commit a crime. However, I believe that all human actions are not always rational. Besides, it is over-simplistic to blame exclusively the individual for her action and not take into account the role of the social environment. I mean, there are other factors that should be taken into account when dealing with the causes of crime. By placing its emphasis solely on the individual, classical school seems to ignore the role that poverty, broken families and an extremely egotistical capitalist state, to name but a few factors, play in creating criminality.