Legal positivism in criminal law and criminology: A retrospective analysis

Abstract

The article analyzes ideas of representatives of the directions in the Positivist School of Criminal Law and Criminology, namely: criminal-anthropological (biological), criminal-sociological (sociological), bio-sociological (positivist) direction. The research indicates that the main feature of the criminal-anthropological (biological) direction lies in the fact that its representatives considered the criminal as a special kind of the human race and a special abnormal creature endowed with certain physical and mental anomalies. The commission of a crime for such a being is a natural necessity.Therepresentatives of the criminal-sociological (sociological) direction mainly skeptically assessed the conclusions of supporters of the anthropological direction, who looked for the causes of crime precisely in social factors, noted the importance of the interaction of social, political and economic factors and expressed confidence that it would be useless to try to influence crime without changing the social conditions that lead to crime. The main ideas of representatives of different directions in legal positivism in criminal law and criminology are considered and their significance for the present is determined. It was established that the socio-philosophical methodology is characterized by a close connection between speculative methods of cognition and empirical researches. It is noted that the impact of public lifeon all spheres is one of the most effective ways to combat crime. All authorities, as well as scientists, should identify and analyze the existing links between modern social changes and criminal processes taking place in society. A comprehensive analysis of the causes of crime can help reduce crime rates