forensic psychology 16
Week 4 Discussion
Are People Born Criminals?
The nature vs. nurture debate is a longstanding discussion about how some people develop law-abiding skills and attitudes while others develop attitudes and behaviors counter to societal laws. This debate may actually be a discussion of how nature and nurture play a role in a person’s socio-legal conformity. We know, for example, that some traits can be genetically passed on in specific family lines such as Downs syndrome, sickle-cell disease, and spinal muscular atrophy. There is, of course, not a 100% guarantee that such diseases will be transmitted, but rather, there is a predisposition for such diseases to be passed on in family lines.
Similar arguments can be made for mental illnesses, such as depression and schizophrenia. While a statistical correlation exists between family history of depression and the risk of it being genetically passed on, much can be done environmentally to minimize the impact via medications and therapy. In more extreme measures some communities have proffered other alternatives such as sterilization to control the gene pool and thereby weed out “bad genes.†This perspective advocates improving humanity through eugenics, increasing genetically desired traits and decreasing undesirable traits (negative eugenics) via sterilization or other methods. Should you support controlling our gene pool for the betterment of mankind? What are some of the social and moral implications?
To prepare
- Review the Learning Resources concerning the nature versus nurture debate of criminality.
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Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on “Submit,†you cannot delete or edit your own posts. You also cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit! |
Post by Day 3 a response to the following:
- Do you think that people are born to be criminals?
- If people are born criminals, does society have an obligation to identify and eliminate the risk through eugenics or biological predetermination?
- What are the ethical implications for knowing someone is a criminal at an early age?
- Support your opinion with evidence.
Respond by Day 5 to two of your colleagues and continue the discussion through Day 7.
Respond in at least one of the following ways:
- Ask a probing question.
- Expand on a colleague’s posting.
- Offer polite disagreement or critique supported with evidence.
