Philosophy

Discussion

Name

Department/Institution

Course

Instructor

Due Date

Discussion

How would a personal belief in determinism affect your view of crime and punishment? Do you think that people are generally responsible for their crimes, or are they not responsible due to deterministic forces beyond their control?

Biologically, determinism is the belief that the behavior of humans is directly related to and controlled by a person’s genes or components of their physiology. Such control is usually at the expense of the role of their environment. When this theory is applied in criminology, it is used to explain why people commit a crime. From a criminology perspective, determinism is a theory that contends that the criminal actions of humans are caused by biological and psychological factors that are specific to individuals, as well as the structural factors that exist in their environment (Vaughn, 2018). The theory argues that human behavior is a result of factors such as genetic makeup, mental health issues, or their environment. My personal belief in this theory does not affect my view of crime and punishment. While factors such as mental health issues may influence negative thoughts, every person has the free will to decide what is right and wrong.

I think that people are responsible for their crimes since no one can commit a crime without the intention to. People conceive criminal thoughts and actions before deciding to do something. A criminal makes a conscious decision to commit a crime after planning his or her actions in their mind. One can think of criminal actions to do but stop themselves from doing them. For this reason, everyone is generally responsible for their actions. While the determinism theory argues that other factors are in play, they do not force one to commit a crime, but rather conceive it in their mind.

References

Vaughn, L. (2018). Philosophy Here and Now: Powerful Ideas in Everyday Life. Oxford University Press.