What is the difference between positivist criminology and classical criminology?

The difference between the classical crime school and the empirical crime school is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

First, the differences in research methods.

(1) The classical school used speculative and deductive methods to study, based on the theoretical viewpoints put forward by enlightenment thinkers or even earlier thinkers, and used the logical thinking method of syllogism to infer the irrationality and unfairness of legislative provisions and judicial practice at that time, and deduced its own conclusions or opinions; The positivist school, on the other hand, adopts empirical (empirical) methods and inductive methods, based on the actual objective facts, and summarizes its own views from the investigation and study of objective facts. As Philip said: "For us, experiment (that is, induction) is the key to all knowledge; For the classical school, everything comes from logical deduction and traditional ideas. For them, facts should give way to syllogism (deduction); For us, facts play a decisive role. Without knowledge, we can't make inferences. For them, science only needs paper, pen and ink, and the rest comes from a brain full of books, which are all produced in the same way. For us, science needs to test the facts one by one for a long time, evaluate the facts, obtain their * * * same characteristics, and extract the central concept from them. For them, deduction or anecdote is enough to overthrow a large number of facts collected through years of observation; For us, the situation is just the opposite. "

(2) The classical school advocates the theory of free will, believing that everyone has free will, and criminal behavior is the result of individual's free choice; Positivism advocates determinism, acknowledging that everything is causal and decisive, and criminal behavior is determined by some factors, not the result of pure personal freedom. Philip pointed out: "both the classical school and the general public believe that crime contains moral evil, because criminals abandon the correct track of morality because of their free will and go astray." Therefore, they should be punished accordingly, which is by far the most popular concept of crime ... On the contrary, positivist criminology advocates that criminals commit crimes voluntarily; If a person wants to be a criminal, he must put himself in such a person's material and mental state permanently or temporarily, and live in an environment of causal chain that urges him to commit crimes from the inside out. I think this is my conclusion, and it is also the research method that our positivist criminology is fundamentally different or opposite to the classical school in its main principles. " (3) The classical school adopted the legal definition of crime; However, the positivist school did not adopt the legal definition of crime, or they created a new and clear concept and definition of crime, such as Garofalo's "natural crime"; Or, instead of putting forward a clear definition of crime, the word crime is used vaguely, including all acts that endanger society.

Second, the differences in basic theories (1) The two schools have different assumptions about "people". The classical criminology school thinks that everyone has free will, and advocates that people should understand right and wrong, good and evil in society from a rational perspective, so as to make their behavior conform to social norms and social morality, that is, the assumption of rational people; The school of criminal positivism holds that the hypothesis of rational man is an unfounded fictional myth, and that human behavior is the result of the interaction between personal and social reasons such as physiology and psychology, and that man is an experiencer based on social practical experience, inner experience and personal preference. (2) The values of the two schools are different. The classical school of crime believes that freedom of will and rationality are the basis of human nature, so people can only be used as an end at any time, not as a means to achieve other purposes. This has formed the liberalism and individual-oriented worldview of the criminal classical school. The positivist school of crime, because it denies the freedom of human will and focuses on the serious threat to society by criminals with anti-social personality, naturally focuses on the society infringed by crime. (3) The two universities have different views on the object of criminal law evaluation. Based on objectivism, the criminal classical school holds that every criminal is a rational person with free will, and all criminal acts are initiated by him subjectively and intentionally. Therefore, the social harmfulness formed by behavior and result should be the object of criminal law evaluation. The criminal positivist should be the object of punishment. Liszt, a famous scholar of this school, put forward the famous conclusion that "it is not the behavior but the actor who should be punished". Third, the difference of research focus (1) Classical school focuses on criminal behavior, while empirical school focuses on criminals. (2) The classical school focuses on the legal aspects of criminal acts, closely linking crime with criminal justice. As Philip said: "The classical school regards crime as a legal issue, focusing on the name, definition and legal analysis of crime, while putting aside the personality formed by criminals in a certain background." Moreover, the important purpose of their study of criminal behavior is to apply the law "fairly" and realize the adaptation of crimes; The positivist school focuses on the phenomenological aspect of criminal behavior (studying the law of crime) and the causes of crime. The important purpose of studying crime is to find out the laws and causes of crime and seek ways to eliminate it. Fourth, the difference in the concept of crime (1) The difference between libertarianism and determinism in the cause of crime. The classical school of crime believes that as long as people with normal mental and intellectual abilities reach a certain age, they have free will, and crime is the result of self-selection based on their own free will and ability to distinguish right from wrong. For example, Kant clearly put forward: "We must admit that every rational thing with will is free and act according to the concept of freedom." The school of criminal positivism fundamentally denies free will and thinks that free will is a fantasy in people's hearts. Philip pointed out: "We can't recognize free will. Because if free will is just an illusion in our hearts, it is not the actual function in people's hearts. " Any behavior of people is the result of the interaction between personality and people's environment. Therefore, the criminal's crime is not voluntary, but an inevitable phenomenon arising from the actor's personality and environment. (two) the difference between the behavior standard and the actor standard in the classification of crimes. Because the criminology of the classical school focuses on criminal behavior, punishment and crimes that have been committed, and does not pay attention to the investigation of criminals. Therefore, the classification of crimes by the classical criminology school is basically based on the characteristics of criminal acts or the types of objects infringed by crimes. Based on empirical research, the criminal positivism school pays attention to the study of living criminals, so its classification of crimes is based on the characteristics of criminals, or it pays attention to the classification of criminals rather than crimes. (3) The difference between general prevention and special prevention in criminal countermeasures. Kant, Hegel and others of the classical school of crime rarely mentioned the problem of criminal countermeasures. In their view, crime is only the free choice of rational people. Therefore, punishment is only retribution for crimes and should not pursue other purposes. Beccaria, Bentham, Feuerbach and others of the classical school of crime think that punishment should pursue a certain purpose from the utilitarian point of view, that is, crime prevention. Generally speaking, the classical criminal school advocates general prevention with punishment as the main or even the only means in criminal countermeasures. On the other hand, the school of criminal positivism advocates social defense theory and special prevention on the issue of criminal countermeasures. Fifth, the difference of penalty concept (1) the difference of criminal law basis. The classical school of crime is divided into two camps: retribution theory and utilitarianism. Retribution theorists believe that the justice of punishment lies in the justice of retribution, while utilitarianism believes that the purpose of punishment lies in preventing crime. Karma theorists believe that only by clearly defining what a crime is and the punishment it receives in advance can it be justified to convict and apply the punishment according to law; Utilitarians believe that only when a crime is legally prescribed can there be a prerequisite for crime prevention. Retribution theorists believe that it is only fair to examine behaviors other than punishment and their damage results; Utilitarians, on the other hand, believe that prevention is necessary only when acts other than punishment and their consequences may cause damage. The social defense theory of criminal positivism school holds that punishment has the purpose of defending society, and various defense measures should be taken according to the actor's antisocial character or personal danger to achieve the purpose of social defense. Long Boluoling pointed out: "Crime is inevitable, it is also necessary for society to eradicate crime, and it is also necessary to punish crime without doing evil to society. Only in this way can punishment be utilitarian, and it is asserted that punishment has no other basis except natural necessity and the right to self-defense. Wild animals eat people, you don't have to ask if they are born. So, as long as you see a wild animal eating people, you can shoot. Imprisoning crazy people is the same as this principle of self-defense. Punishment must be based on legitimate defense and there is no room for opposition. " Philip pointed out: "We firmly believe that the achievement of scientific truth will turn criminal justice into a natural function to protect society from crime, and eradicate all traces of uncivilized times such as revenge, hatred and punishment that still exist today." Liszt also believes that punishment is not an after-the-fact revenge for criminal acts, nor a threat to others, but a preventive measure for people who reflect dangerous situations. (2) Differences in understanding of the penalty function. Based on the standpoint of general prevention, the classical school of crime thinks that the function of punishment is mainly to maintain the stability and effective operation of society, the function of punishment to criminals is mainly to deter, and punishment is the asking price for crime. Based on the theory of psychological compulsion, Feuerbach believes that the purpose of legal punishment is to warn people who may become criminals not to commit criminal acts. That is, through the formulation of criminal law, the general principle of criminal punishment is established, which psychologically forces ordinary people not to commit crimes. At the same time, in order to prevent crime, it is necessary to punish the criminal department and let the prisoners know that the pain brought by punishment is greater than the unpleasant pleasure brought by stopping crime. Therefore, if the general prevention of classical school crime is over-publicized, it will tend to be severely punished. (3) Different understanding of the nature of punishment. Based on the position of retribution, the classical criminology school believes that crime violates the justice of law and imposes penalties on it, with the aim of retribution for the evil it creates, that is, the so-called "violence against violence, evil against evil." After the punishment of criminals is completed, justice will be realized. According to the source of justice, it can be divided into three types: the theory of heaven retribution, the theory of moral retribution and the theory of legal retribution. Based on the teleology of criminal law, the school of criminal positivism believes that punishment is a tool to prevent crime and maintain society. For criminals, criminal law is to transform them into law-abiding citizens in order to repay the society. (4) Different understanding of punishment. From the perspective of general prevention, the classical school of crime thinks that punishment has three preventive functions for society: legislative deterrence, general deterrence and special deterrence. Criminal positivism attaches importance to the personal background and subjective mentality of criminals from the perspective of special prevention. The contract school of criminal positivism believes that crime is the destruction of social contract, and punishing crime is to defend the social order of social contract. (5) Different understanding of the basis of criminal responsibility. From the standpoint of moral responsibility theory, the classical criminology school thinks that responsibility is the condition for moral condemnation of behavior and actors, and free will is the subjective basis of its responsibility. An actor with free will is responsible for some actions based on his inner meaning and the resulting results. Therefore, the moral responsibility theory of classical criminal school can also be called retribution responsibility theory. From the standpoint of social responsibility theory, criminal positivism school holds that responsibility is an important element for the actor to apply social defense or public security punishment, and the actor's anti-social behavior is the basis of his responsibility. (6) The divergence of criminal countermeasure theory. The classical criminal school regards punishment as the most important criminal countermeasure, and they will make a fuss about how to better apply punishment to criminals in order to maximize the deterrent effect of punishment; The criminology of the crime positivism school thinks that punishment is only an important part of many criminal countermeasures, and social and scientific preventive and corrective measures are more effective in preventing crimes, so many "alternative measures of punishment" are put forward to meet criminals scientifically.