Biological Determinism: The Positivist School

In 1859 Charles Darwin introduced the theory of evolution when he published The Origin of the Species. While Darwin didn't subscribe to the idea that biological traits can determine human behavior — a theory known as biological determinism — many people proceeded draw this conclusion from reading the book. During this era, Cesare Lombroso, an Italian doctor, begins studying the bodies of renowned criminals. Based on a variety of factors, from epilepsy to brain circumference, he develops a theory of the "born criminal." Lombroso asserts that some people — he calls them atavists — are throwbacks to primitive man, and this accounts for their destructive behavior. The causes of crime are therefore biological, beyond an individual's control.

Unlike the thinkers of the classical school, who simply generated ideas, Lombroso actually examines people to see if their bodies match his theories. Systematic observations and testing become the hallmarks of the positivist school, which Lombroso is considered to have founded. Many thinkers follow his lead. The American Richard Dugdale spends time in a jail where there are several inmates from the same family. His 1877 study, The Jukes (Dugdale changed their name for publication), reveals a notable amount of criminality, drunkenness, and promiscuity among family members and advances the idea that criminal traits are passed down by inheritance through the generations. The scientific methodology of the positivist school is hailed as groundbreaking. The trouble is, it is often flawed, tainted by race, class, and gender bias. Such work paves the way for potentially intrusive interventions to combat crime.

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