Philosophical perspectives on crime and human society

1 Five Issues The different philosophies that have developed over the centuries to help make sense of society and human behavior are equally relevant when it comes to discussing criminology and criminal justice. Whether one is examining the part that people play from a utilitarian perspective or basing one’s view points on the inherently flawed nature of communism or capitalism, these points of view can be helpful. This paper will examine five issues from various points of reference to discuss the nature of human society and crime. Utilitarianism Seeking the greatest good for the greatest number of people, or the common good, is the inherent principle of utilitarianism. The problem is that defining the good is the hard part and because of a tendency towards moral relativism and an over-emphasis on subjectivism, pinpointing an objective good or sharing a concept of universal good may be hard to achieve in the modern era. This makes utilitarianism an unlikely philosophical base for a society to live by, as it relies upon an agreement among its people or at least its leaders as to what constitutes the greatest good. People are also far more irrational in their thoughts and actions (often out of faults in human nature, such as laziness or lack of deep knowledge) and so identifying man as a calculating animal may not be quite as exact as Bentham would like. In most cases, man is self-serving, which is what Socrates showed many centuries ago in Athens to those who would listen. And, of course, many in his audience resented this observation and so they put him to death (Plato, 2012). Communism vs. Capitalism The communistic proposition that capitalism is what leads to crime is only partly true. The problem is that both communism and capitalism are two sides of the same coin: each is an inherently materialistic doctrine; the former simply states that man should be obliged to share all property and the latter holds that man should be able to own private property and pursue wealth freely. Neither places any measure on these actions in terms of how a human should act in the presence of God, because neither is fundamentally spiritual (Laux, 1943). Man does not need a philosophy to act criminally. His human nature will be incentive enough. So one could say that capitalism leads to crime because it places too much emphasis on material goods—but so too does communism. Many needs spiritual guidance and parameters and incentives, not just material ones, as people have both a material and spiritual nature. Developmental Disabilities Developmental disabilities can be a cause of crime. For example, social learning theory holds that people develop how they think and act based on the ability to learn from others in their lives. If one has a developmental disability, this learning mechanism may be blocked, and criminal actions could result. How the Criminal Personality is Developed A criminal personality is developed through a number of ways: one can by way of strain, with pressure building in the individual till he lashes out at society; another can be by way of bad influences around the person; another can be by way of some inherent impulse in the person’s character that is not corrected growing up. Alternatives to Class Division There is no real viable alternative to class division. Five theoretical approaches to understanding criminal behavior are psychological, sociological, biological, spiritual, and economical. Each points out a side of mankind that is prone to committing crimes—and no division among men will prevent this side from arising from time to time. One could say that economical equality might help the most, but that is as utopian and idealistic as any other pie-in-the-sky dream.