The entire field of positivist criminology is based on the idea of finding causes of crime that are what?
Explanation
This question asks for a synthesis of the chapter's main point, identifying the defining characteristic of the causes sought by positivist criminologists.
Other questions
According to the principles of positivist criminology, what observation in 19th-century Europe suggested that criminal behavior was influenced by factors beyond simple choice?
What is the definition of positivism as presented in the chapter?
What was the ultimate goal of positivist criminology as described in the text?
Which of the following is NOT listed as one of the basic premises of positivism?
What was a primary speculation of early positivist theories regarding criminals and non-criminals?
Which book, written by Charles Darwin in 1859, outlined his observations of natural selection?
In what year did Charles Darwin publish 'Descent of Man'?
What claim did Charles Darwin make in his book 'Descent of Man' that was later applied to crime?
What does the text say about Charles Darwin's direct contributions to the study of criminal behavior?
The basic premises of positivism—measurement, objectivity, and causality—are central to what kind of inquiry?
The idea that crime rates would be 'evenly spread' is associated with which theoretical perspective on criminal behavior?
The findings from 19th-century European crime rate calculations indicated that criminal behavior must be correlated with what?
Which of the three basic premises of positivism refers to the goal of identifying cause-and-effect relationships?
The idea of 'evolutionary reversions' is a concept from which thinker mentioned in the chapter?
What subject did Charles Darwin outline in 'On the Origin of Species'?
Positivist criminology challenged the classical school's focus on what?
According to the text, how did criminologists use Darwin's ideas?
The positivist premise of 'objectivity' requires that scientific inquiry be what?
The discovery that some places in 19th-century Europe had consistently higher crime rates served as evidence against which idea?
What does the text imply is the main difference between early positivist theories and classical theories of crime?
The positivist notion that criminals and non-criminals were different types of people led to a search for what?
In 'Descent of Man', Darwin applied his observations of natural selection specifically to which group?
The core argument of positivism, as described in the text, is that crime can be understood and explained through which method?
Which publication year is associated with Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species' in the text?
What is the term for Darwin's idea that some people might be throwbacks to an earlier stage of human evolution?
If criminal behavior were just a matter of choice, what would likely be true about crime rates according to the text's logic?
Positivism emphasizes the use of empirical evidence. What does 'empirical' mean in this context?
Who borrowed Charles Darwin's ideas to apply them to crime?
What are the three fundamental premises of positivism mentioned in the text?
Which scientific concept, outlined in Darwin's 1859 work, became a foundational idea for understanding biological variation?
The idea that some people are 'evolutionary reversions' was taken from which of Darwin's books?
The main goal of the scientific inquiry in positivism is to do what?
Positivist criminology began by examining what kind of data to challenge choice-based theories?
What does the text say about the relationship between Darwin's work and his own study of crime?
The positivist premise of 'measurement' implies that the causes of crime should be what?
The observation of consistently high crime rates in certain areas led early positivists to believe that crime must be what?
Positivism as a philosophy of science is fundamentally based on gathering knowledge through what means?
Which of Darwin's works was published in 1871 and applied his theories to human evolution?
The early positivist belief that there were identifiable 'criminals' and 'non-criminals' is an example of what type of thinking?
The entire argument of the 'Positivist Criminology' chapter rests on the initial observation that crime rates are not what?
What is the relationship between 'positivism' and 'empirical evidence' according to the text?
Darwin's idea of 'evolutionary reversions' provided a potential, early explanation for which positivist assumption?
Based on the text, early positivist criminology was a reaction against what idea?
The text indicates that Darwin's 1871 book, 'Descent of Man', did what with the ideas from his 1859 book?
Which phrase best summarizes the shift from classical to positivist criminology?
What does the text identify as the basic premises of the positivist approach to criminology?
According to the text, the field of positivist criminology sought to identify causes of criminal behavior that were different from what?
The analysis of European crime rates in the 19th century provided the initial empirical support for which school of criminological thought?
What fundamental question did the unequal distribution of crime in 19th-century Europe raise for criminologists?