Lesson 2: Schools of

Thought
Prepared by:
Jovalyn R. Presado, LPT; RCrim
• School of Thought – refers to a group of
beliefs or ideas that support a specific theory.
• Theory – set of statements devised to explain
behavior, events or phenomenon, especially
one that has been repeatedly tested and
widely accepted.
 Demonological Theory

• asserts that a person commits wrongful acts

due to the fact that he was possessed by
demons.
• Devine Will Theory-
CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY

• The classical school of criminology grew out of

a reaction against the barbaric system of law,
punishment and justice that existed.
• There was no real system of criminal justice in
Europe at that time. Some crimes were
specified, some were not.
• Judges had discretionary power to convict a
person for an act not even legally defined as
criminal.
• This school of thought is based on the
assumption that individuals choose to commit
crimes after weighing the consequences of
their actions. According to classical
criminologists, individuals have free will.
• They can choose legal or illegal means to get
what they want, fear of punishment can deter
them from committing crime and society can
control behavior by making the pain of
punishment greater than the pleasure of the
criminal gains.
• This theory, however, does not give any
distinction between an adult and a minor or a
mentally handicapped in as far as free will is
concerned. Founders of classical school of
criminology are Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy
Bentham.
 Classical School of Criminology
Jeremy Bentham Cesare Beccaria
Cesare Beccaria
• Cesare Bonesana di
Beccaria, was an Italian
criminologist, jurist,
philosopher, economist
and politician, who is
widely considered one
of the greatest thinkers
of the Age of
Enlightenment.
 Cesare Beccaria (Cesare Bonesana
Marchese di Beccaria) (1738-1794)

• best known for his essay, “On Crimes and

Punishment” which presented key ideas on
the abolition of torture as legitimate means
of extracting confession.
 Cesare Beccaria (Cesare Bonesana
Marchese di Beccaria) (1738-1794

• - His book contains almost all modern penal

reforms but its greatest contribution was the
foundation it laid for subsequent changes in
criminal legislation.
 Cesare Beccaria (Cesare Bonesana
Marchese di Beccaria) (1738-1794
• - his book was influential in the reforms of penal code
in France, Russia, Prussia and it influenced the first ten
amendments to the US Constitution
• Beccaria believed that:
• a. people want to achieve pleasure and avoid pain.
• b. Crime provides some pleasure to the criminal.
• c. To deter crime, he believed that one must administer
pain in an appropriate amount to counterbalance the
pleasure obtain from crime.
• d. Famous in sayings “ Let the punishment fit the crime”
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
• Jeremy Bentham was an
English philosopher, jurist, and
social reformer regarded as
the founder of modern
utilitarianism. Bentham
defined as the "fundamental
axiom" of his philosophy the
principle that "it is the
greatest happiness of the
greatest number that is the
measure of right and wrong."
 Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)

 - his contribution to classical school of

criminology is the concept of utilitarianism
and the felicific calculus.
 - proposed “Utilitarian Hedonism” which
explains that person always acts in such a way
to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
 - founded the concept of UTILITARIANISM – assumes that all

our actions are calculated in accordance with their likelihood

of bringing pleasure and pain

 - devised the pseudo-mathematical formula called “felicific

calculus” which states that individuals are human calculators

who put all the factors into an equation in order to decide
whether a particular crime is worth committing or not
 he reasoned that in order to deter individuals
from committing crimes, the punishment, or
pain, must be greater than the satisfaction, or
pleasure, he would gain from committing the
crime
• Utilitarianism
– is a philosophy which argues that what is right
is the one that would cause the greatest good
for the greatest number of people.
- others refer to it as the greatest happiness
principle or the principle of utility.
- from this principle, Bentham formulated the
“felicific calculus”.
Felicific Calculus or the pleasure-and-pain
principle – is a theory that proposes that
individuals calculate the consequences of his
actions by weighing the pleasure (gain) and
the pain (suffering) he would derive from
doing the action.
NEOCLASSICAL
CRIMINOLOGY
• This theory modified the doctrine of free will by
stating that free will of men may be affected by
other factors and crime is committed due to
some compelling reasons that prevail.
• These causes are pathology, incompetence,
insanity or any condition that will make it
impossible for the individual to exercise free will
entirely. In the study of legal provisions, this is
termed as either mitigating or exempting
circumstances.