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Strength: Scientific Credibility
Lombroso gave criminology scientific credibility by applying scientific methods to study criminal behaviour, which was previously considered a moral or religious issue.
Strength: Challenge to Traditional Views
Lombroso challenged the idea that criminals are evil or that crime is a choice, offering a more scientific perspective on criminality.
Strength: Development of Offender Profiling
Lombroso's work laid the foundation for the development of offender profiling, a tool used in modern criminal investigations.
Strength: Lombroso's Theory Led to Further Developments
Lombroso's theories are credited with inspiring future research and the development of newer criminological theories with more scientific evidence.
Weakness: Lack of Control Group
Lombroso's research lacked a control group for comparison, which undermines the reliability of his findings.
Weakness: Deterministic Nature of the Theory
Lombroso's theory was deterministic, suggesting that individuals with certain innate physical traits are predisposed to crime, without considering the role of free will or moral values.
Weakness: Environmental Factors and Innate Traits
Lombroso argued that physical traits were innate, but these characteristics may have been influenced by environmental factors, such as malnutrition during childhood, which challenges the validity of his claims.
Weakness: Lack of Causal Link and Scientific Evidence
Lombroso identified common features among criminals, but his research failed to establish a clear causal link between physical traits and criminal behaviour, lacking scientific evidence to support such a connection.
Weakness: Social Sensitivity and Racism
Lombroso's theory has been criticised for being socially sensitive, as some physical traits he linked to criminality are associated with race, leading to accusations of scientific racism.
Weakness: Support for Eugenics
Lombroso's work was used to support eugenics, a controversial philosophy advocating for the elimination of those with perceived genetic disadvantages to improve the human gene pool.
