Hedonistic Rationalism

The classical school was a product of the Enlightenment and is the basis of criminological theories. The classical school emphasized each person’s own free will, making every person responsible for their own actions and the consequences to follow. With the individual freedom to exercise free will, comes hedonistic rationality. Hedonistic rationality is the rationalization human’s make between potential pleasure and pain as a result of an action. In 1794, Cesare Beccaria wrote an essay on Crimes and Punishments and illustrated the need for a reformed justice system. Beccaria drew attention to the policy that the greatest happiness should be shared by the greatest number, otherwise known as utility. He believed in the intangible agreement between …show more content…
This theory proposed that adolescent youth drifts between the defiant and hormonal need to rebel and the cultural norms set in place. The gap between both ends of the spectrum is what causes this drift. This solidifies the free will idea by intensifying the freedom to partake in certain actions. Positivist theories seek scientific answers and can be broken down into three different categories: biological positivism, psychological positivism, and social positivism. In biological positivism, biological inferiority makes criminals genetically different, making this an example of nature in Charles Darwin’s nature versus nurture debate. However, no studies thus far have been able to prove that criminality is hereditary. Sigmund Freud divided consciousness into the id (pleasure principle), ego (conscious outside awareness), and superego (ideal self or conscience). Psychoanalytical theory applies in criminology by the criminal having a damaged superego or a deep rooted psychological problem, deeming them a psychopath. Sociological theory makes a point of the nurture side of Darwin’s debate, dismissing the idea of being born a criminal. Environments and societal roles factor into criminology and impact