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aqal
October 2009 
Causes of Criminal Behavior
Posted on Nov 5th, 2006
by 
Dolf
Dolf
Recently, a Dutch scientist graduated on research showing that there is a relationship between biological features in humans and criminal behavior.
This is a major step forward, because thirty years ago, an other Dutch scientist, Prof. Buikhuisen, was basically demonized when suggesting the same. The demonization was headed by one of Holland's major authors, Hugo Brandt Corstius, who claimed that it was only social factors that determined whether someone turns criminal or not. Brandt Corstius still maintains that position today.
It's apparently time for all of them to turn AQAL: recognize that causes of anything can be described in terms of personal internal (emotional, spiritual, psychological) development, personal physical (brain development, biological factors) development, social environment (e.g. being raised in poverty, discrimination) and cultural factors (the position of the community that you are part of towards criminality).
Doing so would justify and unite both points of view: yes, there are biological factors that contribute to someone becoming a criminal or not. Yes, there are social factors that contribute to the same. And also: yes, there are factors in someone's psychological development ad culture that contribute to this. It is time that scientists and opinion makers recognize this and see that their views are complementary, not exclusive.
This is a major step forward, because thirty years ago, an other Dutch scientist, Prof. Buikhuisen, was basically demonized when suggesting the same. The demonization was headed by one of Holland's major authors, Hugo Brandt Corstius, who claimed that it was only social factors that determined whether someone turns criminal or not. Brandt Corstius still maintains that position today.
It's apparently time for all of them to turn AQAL: recognize that causes of anything can be described in terms of personal internal (emotional, spiritual, psychological) development, personal physical (brain development, biological factors) development, social environment (e.g. being raised in poverty, discrimination) and cultural factors (the position of the community that you are part of towards criminality).
Doing so would justify and unite both points of view: yes, there are biological factors that contribute to someone becoming a criminal or not. Yes, there are social factors that contribute to the same. And also: yes, there are factors in someone's psychological development ad culture that contribute to this. It is time that scientists and opinion makers recognize this and see that their views are complementary, not exclusive.
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