Theoretical Criminology Mid-Term Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Theoretical Criminology Mid-Term - Assignment Example It is, however, worth noting that these ideas about natural reality were not scientific, but rather based on mere observation of nature (Cullen & Agnew, 2006). Good and evil were thought to exist in the natural world. It is worth noting that the developments of legal definitions as well as the treatments of crime are founded on the attempts to understand the natural explanations for crime in the physical world. Under the spiritual explanations of crime, the feudal lords in Europe during the middle age designed ways, which they thought the guilt or innocence of an individual could be indicated. One of such methods included trial by battle. In this method, the victim or a family member of the victim would fight with the offender or a family member of the offender. It was believed that God gave victory to the innocent party. Trial by ordeal was introduced in which the accused person was subjected to a painful and difficult situation (Tierney, 2006). The guilty party would die with pain and agony while (through God’s protection) the innocent party would go through such an ordeal unharmed. The aforementioned method was replaced by compurgation a method that involved the accused calling twelve individuals who were reputable in the society who would then swear that the accused person is not guilty. The idea of prison today emerged from the earlier concept of isolating the criminals in cell s where some were subjected to manual labor while others were given the bible to read (Tierney, 2006). The natural explanations for crime generally use events as well as objects found in the world for purposes of explanation what ensues. The divine sanction of the law in the traditional society provided a justification of natural explanations for crime. It is due to this that the rule of kings became natural law, as it was considered to be by divine right. The material and physical world are still used by social scientists in the modern society to seek natural explanations of