The Gang Phenomenon
Demonological vs. Naturalistic Explanations
for Deviant BehaviorAs you know, you will be reading a chapter from my online book entitled Why Gangs Form. You'll be tested on the contents of that chapter and we will spend some time in class discussing what you learned about that subject. The main reason for this discussion is to get an idea of why some people violate the law and become gang members so we can determine if the way the justice system responds to them makes sense in terms of reducing gang activity.
If people violate the law due to factors beyond their control (biological or mental/psychological forces), should they be held personally accountable or should the factors which made them behave the way they did be held accountable and addressed? On the other hand, if people offend because they chose to behave that way (our of their own free will), wouldn't we want to hold them personally accountable?
Each of the explanations below (demonological and naturalistic) are frames of reference for thinking about why people offend and, depending upon the frame of reference you embrace, you will likely respond to the behavior differently.
Demonological explanations posit that supernatural powers cause crime. People violate the law because "The devil made me do it!" or for some other supernatural or demonological reason.
Naturalistic explanations are based on the opposite notion that causes of delinquency and crime may be found in nature, not the supernatural. The naturalists were either choice/free will theorists or determinists:
Choice or free will theorists believe people behave the way they do because:
1) they choose to,
2) they are hedonistic (preferring pleasure over pain), and
3) they are rational, choosing to behave in ways that will bring them more pleasure than pain. That would be rational.Determinists, on the other hand, believe most human behavior is determined by forces outside the control of the individual - in other words, people do not have free will. They believe the forces that direct the way we behave are:
A. biological determinism (one's biological make-up determines how he or she behaves),
B. psychological determinism (one's psychological make-up or personality determines how one will behave), and
C. socio-cultural determinism (one's behavior is determined by his or her social situation or cultural setting).
