Cesare Lombroso is one of the most famous psychiatrists and criminologists in Italy. Despite the fact that some consider the conclusions of his research to be dubious, Lombroso is the recognized founder of the anthropological direction in forensic science.
The student years of a scientist
Cesare Lombroso was born in 1835 in the Italian city of Verona. After graduating from the gymnasium, Lombroso began his studies at the University of Pavia, where he became particularly interested in anthropology, neurophysiology and psychiatry. The teachers were very fond of the student Lombroso - after all, he was very diligent, studying not only according to the program, but also overtime. In order to better understand the differences between ethnic groups, Cesare even began to learn foreign languages - Chinese and Aramaic. However, in the future, he chose a slightly different path, thanks to which the anthropological theory of Cesare Lombroso became known to the whole world.
Experience in prison
At the age of 18, Lombroso went to jail, as he participated in the movement for the unification of Italy and was suspected of plotting against the government. The student was released in a fairly short time: he did not even have accumulatedacademic debt. But being in the cell made an indelible impression on him. The young man was amazed at how rudely his cellmates behaved and what facial features they possessed. Cesare even suspected that these people might be suffering from cretinism. Lombroso's theory of criminals and the idea of its creation may have come to the researcher during this sad period of his life.
Measuring the faces of criminals: the experience gained with the caniograph
At 27, Lombroso became a member of a popular uprising that fought for the independence of his people from Austria. After the revolution ended with the defeat of the rebels, Lombroso continued his work in the military unit - now as a military doctor. At this time, he again creates his own author's device to identify criminals. The caniograph used by the researcher to measure the noses, chins, and browbones of suspected criminals never left the researcher for a day.
Over time, he collected such a large amount of data that an unexpected idea occurred to him, on which the whole theory of Lombroso is based. The scientist thought: what if criminals are not made, but born? After all, according to the scientist, the propensity to delinquency is the "inheritance" of man, which he inherited from animals.
The criminals themselves, Lombroso believed, must be considered mentally retarded, or degenerates - this is the main position on which Lombroso's theory was based. Types of criminals were identifiedexternal researcher. All the suspects whose faces Lombroso measured had features that made them look like primitive people. A low forehead, large jaws, close-set eyes - these are the signs, according to the scientist's conclusions, that individuals prone to breaking the law have.
The forerunner of the lie detector invented by Lombroso
Visible manifestations of criminal tendencies were not the only passion of the researcher. It should be noted that the devices he invented received much less popularity than the anthropological theory of Lombroso. The scientist developed the forerunner of the modern polygraph. Then this device was called "hydrosphygmometer". With the help of his invention, Lombroso measured the pulse and pressure of the interrogated, trying to find out the reaction of their body to the questions posed.
Distinguishing the innocent from the criminal: first experiments with the device
When Lombroso used his device for the first time, he was interrogated by a suspected theft. During a conversation with the detainee, the readings of the device did not differ from the usual ones - the criminal had no reaction. When he was asked about fraud with other people's passports, the first lie detector recorded a change in indicators. Later it turned out that the interrogated person was really a participant in this scam.
The next test subject was a suspect in a rape case. Law enforcement agencies were in full confidence that the one they caught was indeed an inveteratepimp. But when the investigator showed him a photograph of one of the victims, the hydrosphygmometer did not show any changes in the body of the alleged perpetrator. The investigator only dismissed all of Lombroso's arguments - he believed that the interrogated man was so ossified in his crimes that remorse, as well as a sense of fear, were unknown to him.
Then a famous psychiatrist challenged the suspect to solve a difficult math problem to find out if it was true. When the detainee saw the task, the device immediately recorded the changes - which meant that he was still aware of the fear. Soon Lombroso's theory was confirmed - an additional investigation revealed the real criminal, and the suspect, who did not know how to solve problems, was fairly released.
Since then, the device invented by Cesare has undergone significant transformation. But the Italian criminologist is considered to be the pioneer in this area to this day. Today, the lie detector is used not only in law enforcement, but also in many large companies.
Cesare Lombroso's theory of genius
In 1863 Lombroso's famous book en titled "Genius and Madness" was published. The basis for the work was the information collected by the researcher while working in a psychiatric clinic. Under the close attention of Lombroso was the behavior of patients, their creativity, the topics that they chose for their drawings or notes. The scientist tried to find out how much one can judge the mentalhuman he alth through his creative work.
Lombroso's theory of genius, formed on the basis of his observations, says: artistic abilities are hereditary - moreover, they pass from ancestors along with mental deviations. After Lombroso made his conclusions, he began to look for confirmation in history. The researcher began to study the biographies of great people and came to the conclusion that many of them were not only geniuses, but also madmen. Among them, he included, for example, the composers Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck.
Lombroso's theory of genius thus put both neurotic inclinations and giftedness on the same footing. One of the arguments in its favor, Lombroso considered the increased sensitivity of both the mentally ill and the genius. The difference between these two extremes, according to the scientist, is in the reaction of people to the world around them. The same event for a genius can become an impetus for discovery, and for a neurotic - the cause of an even greater mental disorder.
Cesare Lombroso's Anthropological Theory: Jewish Giftedness
The researcher discovered an interesting relationship between nationality and the number of talented people. In the first place in terms of the number of both geniuses and neurotics are the Jews. Lombroso explains this pattern as follows: the Jewish people were constantly persecuted, so they passed a rather cruel selection. The researcher cites the following figures: for every 384 Jews there is one madman.
Urepresentatives of the Catholic faith, this coefficient is five times lower. Lombroso also believed that it was the genetic predisposition, as opposed to upbringing, that is the factor of genius. The biological theory of Lombroso is confirmed by some of the arguments that the scientist cites. For example, he points to the fact that 8 generations have been involved in music in the Bach family, and 57 people have been popular in this field.
