MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THEORY EVALUATION (FROM NEW PATHS IN CRIMINOLOGY - INTERDISCIPLINARY AND INTERCULTURAL EXPLORATIONS, 1979, BY SARNOFF A MEDNICK AND S GIORA SHOHAM - SEE NCJ-55340)

• NCJ Number: 55341
• Author(s): K VODOPIVEC
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 9 pages
• Corporate Author: Lexington Books
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: TRANSLATED BY BOSTJAN ZUPANCIC

Annotation

FACTORS IN THE EVALUATION OF HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF CRIME AND DEVIANCE AND IN THE FORMATION OF NEW THEORIES ARE CONSIDERED, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THEORETICAL WORK.

Abstract

AN IMPORTANT AND OFTEN OVERLOOKED REQUIREMENT FOR EVALUATING PAST CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES IS TO CONSIDER THE THEORIES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE TIMES IN WHICH THEY WERE DEVELOPED--THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS, AS WELL AS THE KNOWLEDGE AVAILABLE TO THE THEORIST. THE THEORIST'S SOCIAL ROLE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVES SHOULD ALSO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. EVALUATING CONTEMPORARY THEORIES IS A DIFFERENT MATTER, BECAUSE EVALUATORS LIVE IN THE PRESENT, COCREATE IT, AND HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING HOW RELEVANT THEIR OWN CONTRIBUTIONS WILL PROVE. TO APPRAISE MODERN THEORIES, IT IS NECESSARY TO ASSESS THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CLIMATE IN WHICH THEY ARE GENERATED AND APPLIED, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE ASSESSMENTS TEND THEMSELVES TO REFLECT CHARACTERISTICS OF BOTH THE ASSESSED THEORY AND THE ASSESSOR. PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN EVALUATING CONTEMPORARY THEORIES IS PRACTICAL APPRAISAL--ASSESSMENT OF THE EXPLANATORY POWER OF THE THEORY VIS-A-VIS CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS AND CONDITIONS. THE FORMATION OF NEW THEORIES IS NEITHER A SUMMATION OF EMPIRICAL DISCOVERIES, A SYNTHESIS OF EXISTENT THEORIES, NOR SIMPLY THE DESCRIPTION OF THINGS. IT INVOLVES A QUALITATIVE LEAP FROM THE EXISTENT INTO THE NEW. INTUITION, DERIVED EITHER FROM THE INSIGHT OF AN INDIVIDUAL OR FROM THE COLLABORATION OF SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS, IS REQUIRED. THE BREADTH AND DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED FOR THE EVALUATION AND FORMATION OF SOCIAL THEORY ARE SUCH THAT THESE ACTIVITIES NO LONGER ARE THE EXCLUSIVE DOMAIN OF INDIVIDUALS. A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH SEEMS A NECESSITY. THUS FAR TWO STRATEGIES--AD HOC FORMATION OF INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS AND FORMATION OF NEW 'SYNTHETIC' DISCIPLINES AT THE POSTGRADUATE LEVEL--HAVE BEEN TRIED. BOTH STRATEGIES PRESENT PROBLEMS, BUT AVENUES OF INTERDISCIPLINARY COOPERATION MUST CONTINUE TO BE EXPLORED. (LKM)