CriminologyLesson 2 of 2 in the course Classical and positivist criminology

Cesare Lombroso: Criminal Atavism, Scientific Critiques, and Historical Legacy

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson introduces Cesare Lombroso, the Italian physician whose ideas helped shape early criminology. His life and career show how medical observation and nineteenth-century scientific theories influenced explanations of crime.

Lombroso was born Ezechia Marco Lombroso in Verona on November 6, 1835, into a wealthy Jewish family. His family’s rabbinical background encouraged wide intellectual interests. At university he studied subjects including literature, linguistics, and archaeology at Padua, Vienna, and Paris, before choosing medicine. He earned his medical degree at the University of Pavia.

All flashcards

Atavism in Lombroso’s theory
The supposed reappearance of traits associated with earlier or “primitive” human ancestors.
Stigmata
Physical or behavioral features Lombroso claimed could indicate criminality; they are not reliable indicators.
Criminaloids
People Lombroso classified as occasional criminals.
Lombroso’s positivist approach
An approach seeking causal explanations of crime, especially in biological predispositions, rather than emphasizing free choice.
Lombroso’s argument in *The Man of Genius*
He argued that artistic genius was a hereditary form of insanity or degeneration.

Quiz questions

  1. What did Lombroso mean by atavism in his theory of criminality?Answer: The supposed reappearance of traits associated with earlier human ancestors
  2. Which group did Lombroso call criminaloids?Answer: Occasional criminals
  3. What major methodological limitation affected Lombroso’s comparisons of criminals and noncriminals?Answer: He did not use rigorous statistical comparisons to establish reliable differences.
  4. What conclusion did Charles Goring report in *The English Convict* (1913)?Answer: Physical differences between criminals and noncriminals were statistically insignificant.
  5. How did Lombroso’s position on spiritualism change after his experiments with Eusapia Palladino?Answer: He moved from skepticism to accepting spiritualist claims.

Based on the Wikipedia article Cesare Lombroso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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