Enrico Ferri

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Enrico Ferri

Born 25 February 1856(1856-02-25)
Lombardy
Died April 12, 1929 (aged 73)
Criminology and Penology
Schools
Chicago School · Classical School
Conflict Criminology
Environmental Criminology
Feminist School · Frankfurt School
Integrative Criminology
Italian School · Left Realism
Marxist Criminology
Neo-Classical School
Positivist School
Postmodernist School
Right Realism
Criminal justice portal
See also Wikibooks:Social Deviance
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Enrico Ferri (February 25th 1856 – April 12th 1929) was an Italian criminologist, socialist, and student of Cesare Lombroso. However, whereas Lombroso researched the physiological factors that motivated criminals, Ferri investigated social and economic factors. Ferri was the author of Criminal Sociology in 1884 and the editor for Avanti, a socialist daily. His work served as the basis for Argentina’s penal code of 1921. His arguments for crime prevention over punishment were eventually rejected by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini after his rise to power.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Ferri was born in Lombardy in 1856[1], and worked first as a lecturer and later as a professor of Criminal law, having spent time as a student of Cesare Lombroso. While Lombroso researched anthropological criminology, Ferri focused more on social and economic influences on the criminal and crime rates.

Ferri's research led to him postulating theories calling for crime prevention methods to be the mainstay of law enforcement, as opposed to punishment of criminals after their crimes had taken place. He became a founder of the positivist school, and he researched psychological and social positivism as opposed to the biological positivism of Lombroso[2].

Ferri, at the time a radical, was elected to Italian Parliament in 1886. In 1893, he joined the Italian Socialist Party[3] and edited their daily newspaper, the Avanti. In 1900 and 1904 he spoke out in congress against the roles of socialist ministers in bourgeoisie governments.

Ferri favoured Italian neutrality during World War I, and he was re-elected as a socialist party deputy in 1921. In post-war Italy, he became a supporter of Mussolini's fascist regime. Ferri died in 1929[4].

[edit] Literary works

  • Criminal Sociology (1884)
  • Socialism and Positive Science (1894)
  • The Positive School of Criminology (1901)
  • Criminal Sociology (1905)
  • Socialism and Modern Science (1909)

[edit] Criminology theories

Ferri disputed Lombroso's emphasis on physiological characteristics of criminals; instead, he focused on the study of psychological characteristics, which he believed accounted for the development of crime in an individual. These characteristics included slang, handwriting, secret symbols, literature, and art, as well as moral insensibility and "a lack of repugnance to the idea and execution of the offence, previous to its commission, and the absence of remorse after committing it".[5]

Ferri argued that sentiments such as religion, love, honour, and loyalty did not contribute to criminal behaviour, as these ideas were too complicated to have a definite impact on a person's basic moral sense, from which Ferri believed criminal behaviour stemmed. Ferri argued that other sentiments, such as hate, cupidity, and vanity had greater influences as they held more control over a person's moral sense.

Ferri summarized his theory by defining criminal psychology as a "defective resistance to criminal tendencies and temptations, due to that ill-balanced impulsiveness which characterises children and savages"[6].

[edit] Political beliefs

Ferri often drew comparisons between socialism and Darwinism, and disputed particular works by Ernst Haeckel that highlighted contradictions between the two schools of thought. Ferri instead argued that Darwinism provided socialism with its key scientific principles.[7]

Ferri viewed religion and science as inversely proportional; thus as one rose in strength, the other declined. Ferri observed that as Darwinism dealt a damaging blow to religion and the origins of the universe according to the church, so socialism rose in comparison. Thus, Ferri argued that socialism was an extension of Darwinism and the theory of evolution.[8]

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Biography from Marxist.org, retrieved on March 10, 2007
  2. ^ Biography from Marxist.org, retrieved on March 10, 2007
  3. ^ Biography from Marxist.org, retrieved on March 10, 2007
  4. ^ Biography from Marxist.org, retrieved on March 10, 2007
  5. ^ Criminal Sociology. Enrico Ferri (1905)
  6. ^ Criminal Sociology. Enrico Ferri (1905)
  7. ^ Socialism and Positive Science. Enrico Ferri (1894)
  8. ^ "All that is history marching towards socialism, whilst individuals are unable to hinder or retard the succession of the phases of the moral, political and social evolution." -Chapter 5 of Socialism and Positive Science

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Ferri, Enrico
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Criminologist
DATE OF BIRTH 1856-02-25
PLACE OF BIRTH Lombardy
DATE OF DEATH 1929-04-12
PLACE OF DEATH