In five pages criminal behavior is examined in terms of its influential factors with the nature vs. nurture debate considered. Four sources are cited in the bibliography.
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Determining the cause of human behavior can be a difficult task. This is particularly true when we are considering criminal behavior. A thorough review of the various
factors influencing behavior, however, often reveals that it is nature verses nurture that is most often responsible for criminal behavior. Indeed, it is an accepted fact in most scientific
circles that our genes determine to a large degree who we are and how we behave. This is just as true of criminal behavior as it is of more
common aspects of our behavior. According to the theory of biological determinism it is our genes and not our wills which determine most of our
actions and behaviors as humans (Dawkins, 1976). This concept means that is nature and not nurture, our biologies and not our environment, that determine our actions. This is
a concept that is hard for most humans to accept as it means in effect that our lives are largely predetermined in terms of many crucial aspects (Dawkins, 1976).
It is also a difficult concept to accept from a criminal justice standpoint. The heightened awareness of the concept of biological determinism and the changing values of our
day which expose us on a daily basis to such concepts as criminal deviancy have left us in a quandary regarding exactly what is responsible for our actions...nature or nurture?
Although nature is often the culprit, it is important to emphasize that this should not be used as an excuse to condone criminal
activity or even to lessen the punishment for such behavior. This is particularly important given that practically any deviant behavior could theoretically excused under the biological determinism action.