Deterministic View of Crime

Author

Institution

Introduction

Crime or criminal behavior has been one of the most explored subjects in the recent times. The increased interest has been triggered by the understanding that it incorporates a bearing on the economy of any nation or region. Needless to say, numerous people and professionals have been striving to understand the occurrence of crime or even the motivation behind criminal activities in an individual. While there are varied views of crime, I believe that deterministic view comes as the most valid.

The deterministic view underlines the notion that an individual’s will does not serve as a motivation for his actions, rather his conducts emanates from extraneous source for which the individual has no control. While many people would believe in free will, it is evident that other factors such as genetics influence an individual’s personality and, therefore, criminality (Gomes, 2007). Genes are known to play a key role in varied forms of mental and physical diseases in human beings, in which case it would be safe to insinuate or say that the physical features of an individual are determined in a large part by their genes. In fact, the difference between human beings and apes is all in their genes (Gomes, 2007). This underlines the fact that an individual’s genetic make-up determines his behavior, in which case human beings are merely victims of their genetic makeup. This, undoubtedly, renders any effort made to modify the individual’s behavioral and moral patterns utterly useless.

While it may be suggested that conscious choice and free will play a role, it is imperative that the notion of “free” is considered in line with an individual being entirely capable of choosing from varied options. Eliminating the role of biology and genetics in shaping behavior is myopic. As much as people are able to choose and plan behavior, the choices are founded on their interaction with the environment, as well as their genetic makeup (Gomes, 2007).

References

Gomes, G. (2007). Free Will, the Self, and the Brain. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 25, 221–234