Notes From Underground Criminological Theories

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While reading the novel Notes from Underground composed by Fyodor Dostoevsky it was clearly evident that many Criminological theories were illustrated. There are several scenarios that Dostoevsky presents where one can depict the different Criminological theories. Major themes that I found evident throughout the novel was the misconception on rationalism and utopianism, the status of supremacy and also the unconfident man who second guesses himself in most situations. The two Criminological themes that mainly stand out to me and that I am going to draw a connection too are the Classical School of Criminology and also the Criminological Labeling theory. The way that I would prove the connection between the theories and Dostoevsky's novel is…show more content…
In addition to having free-will individuals have an option to choose either legal or illegal means to attain these goal that they want. What at times keeps people from committing acts or doing something is the consequences that may come while trying to attain these means which can include punishment. It is safe to safe that prior to the late 18th century there was really not any criminal justice system, where there weren’t any limits to the amount of punishment along with no written codification of law. In modern society today, the death penalty is not nearly used as much as it once was during these times and it is sad to safe that many individuals would rather die from torture so the state or crown wouldn't take away the little that they had, this was the little bit of money and or property could be left to their families. "The father of modern criminology" Cesare Beccaria got his title when he left school and decided to join a men's club that needed reforms in Italy, where there he was assigned to write a report on the prison systems in 1763. Shortly after he completed "On Crimes and Punishments" which influenced heavily on the French Penal Code and ultimately the United States Bill of Rights. Possibly the most well-known point stated by Cesare Beccaria is that "punishment should be based on certainty severity and celerity". In other words, the…show more content…
The example given earlier when the Underground man utters that we have "the most profitable profit" which is free-will can easily be related to the Classical theory of criminology. The fact that no one but yourself is able to distinguish what is "beautiful and lofty" gives the Underground man his free-will in doing what he wants which in this case is absolutely nothing. Bentham's Hedonistic Calculus can also be found throughout the novel throughout the novel because the Underground man constantly weighs his benefits and consequences in several situations due to the fact that he's got a lack of confidence. As mentioned before, the liberty of having free-will is also the downfall of Hedonistic calculus because the ability for you to be able to pick what you want to do at times may lead you to the wrong thing. I think these implications can go beyond just the book because the concepts applied in the book can still be related to society today. Some of the things mentioned makes a lot of things that you may just take for granted such as free-will evident. Sometimes we don't appreciate the amount of liberty that we actually have because we are too worried about what others think and it is clearly shown in Dostoevsky's book. From comparing both the book and the theories I found it interesting how many of the Criminological theories were made glaring in what I

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