Cesare Lombroso’s anthropological theory of crime assumes that crime is biological in nature. Lombroso, in particular, posited the existence of an atavistic type of criminal—a biological throwback to an earlier stage of human evolution.
Key Points
Cesare Lombroso – Criminal Anthropology
Main Proponent: Cesare Lombroso
First Formulations: 1870s–early 20th century
Country of Origin: Italy
Core Idea: CrimeActs or omissions that violate criminal laws and are punishable by the state. is biologically determined and can be explained by inherited, atavistic traits. The „born criminal“ is an evolutionary throwback displaying physical and psychological anomalies.
Foundation for: Biological positivism, early criminal anthropology, etiological approaches in criminology
Theory
Genetic theories of crime, especially in 19th-century Italy, emphasized the biological determinism of criminal behavior. The leading figure of this movement was Cesare Lombroso, an Italian physician and psychiatrist. Lombroso argued that some criminals are „born criminals“ whose deviant behavior is inevitable and biologically predetermined, negating any notion of free will or moral choice. This view starkly contrasted with the Classical School of CriminologyThe scientific study of crime, criminal behavior, prevention, and societal reactions to deviance within and beyond the criminal justice system., which posited rational free choice and individual responsibility.
Lombroso is considered a central figure in the Italian Positive School of Criminology. This school emphasized empirical, „scientific“ approaches to understanding crime, favoring observation and measurement over moral philosophy. Influenced by Darwinian evolution and Franz Joseph Gall’s craniology, Lombroso conducted extensive studies on prisoners and psychiatric patients. His key work, L’Uomo Delinquente („The Criminal Man“), first published in 1876, included numerous illustrations linking physical features and skull shapes to criminal types.
Evolutionary theory played a major role in Lombroso’s model. He believed that born criminals represented an earlier, more primitive human type—atavistic regressions marked by immoral and instinct-driven behavior. Characteristics attributed to them included laziness, insensitivity to pain, vanity, cross-eyed eyes, a penchant for tattoos, a receding forehead, a small brain, and „crooked language.“
In his early work, Lombroso viewed all crime as the product of this atavistic type. Later, influenced by French criminology and his own students (Garofalo and Ferri), he moderated this stance, estimating that only about one-third of criminals were „born criminals,“ with environment, illness, and opportunity accounting for the rest.
Schneider (2014, p. 322) summarizes Lombroso’s anthropological theory in four key statements:
- Criminals can be distinguished from non-criminals by numerous physical and psychological anomalies.
- The criminal is a variety of the human species, an anthropological type, a degenerative phenomenon.
- The criminal is an atavism—a „degeneration“ to a primitive, subhuman type. Criminals are seen as modern „savages,“ regressing physically and mentally to earlier stages of human history.
- Crime is inherited; it arises from a criminal predisposition.
Implications for Criminal Policy
Lombroso’s criminological approach had drastic implications for criminal policy. He argued that criminal law should be grounded in empirical and medical research, rejecting the classical notion of free will as unrealistic. Since born criminals were biologically determined in their behavior, deterrence through punishment was considered ineffective. Criminal acts were seen as inevitable, and punishment had to be rethought in terms of protecting society from inherently dangerous individuals.
Lombroso proposed that punishment should be tailored to the individual’s danger rather than the severity of the crime itself. He argued for permanent incarceration of born and habitual criminals in „prisons for the incorrigible.“ In later editions of L’Uomo Delinquente, he even endorsed the death penalty for especially dangerous born criminals or gang members threatening state security, describing such individuals as „programmed“ predators.
These ideas had troubling legacies. The table below contrasts the paradigm shift from the classical school to biological positivism:
| Classicism | Positivism | |
|---|---|---|
| Object of study | The offence | The offender |
| Nature of the offender | Free-willed Rational, calculating Normal | Determined Driven by biological, psychological or other influences Pathological |
| Response to crime | Punishment Proportionate to the offence | Treatment Indeterminate, depending on individual circumstances |
(White & Haines, 2004, cited in Newburn, 2017, p. 132)
Lombroso’s ideas, particularly their Social Darwinist underpinnings, influenced eugenic practices in Nazi Germany. The notion of „incorrigible“ criminals was used to justify sterilization, segregation, and even mass murder, branding certain individuals as irredeemable threats to society.
Critical Appraisal & Relevance
Despite being hailed as a founder of modern criminology for his empirical focus, Lombroso’s anthropological theory is now considered obsolete. His research methods were unsystematic, his samples flawed, and his conclusions often unsupported by robust evidence. The concept of the „born criminal“ as an evolutionary regression is now widely rejected as pseudoscientific.
However, Lombroso’s influence was significant. He published over thirty books and a thousand essays, revising his ideas over time. In later works, he acknowledged environmental and social factors in criminality, moving away from strict biological determinism. Yet, he also hardened his stance on punitive measures, including the death penalty for certain born criminals.
Contemporaries like Charles Goring rigorously debunked Lombroso’s claims. Goring’s 1913 study demonstrated no consistent physical differences between criminals and non-criminals. Other critics included Edwin Sutherland and Gabriel Tarde. Nonetheless, Lombroso’s work laid the groundwork for what Garland (2002) called the „Lombrosian project“—the etiological paradigm that sought causes of crime in inherent differences between individuals, which still influences certain criminological research traditions today.
Cultural Legacy of Physical Markers of DevianceDeviance refers to behaviors, beliefs, or characteristics that violate social norms and provoke negative social reactions.:
Even though Lombroso’s biological determinism is considered obsolete in criminology, the underlying idea—that deviance can be read from a person’s physical appearance—remains deeply embedded in cultural narratives. Classic fairy tales depict evil characters as visibly deformed, like hunchbacked witches with warts, while in modern popular culture, villains or their henchmen are often scarred or otherwise physically marked (for example, in James Bond films). Such tropes reinforce the intuitive but flawed belief that moral or criminal inferiority reveals itself through bodily signs.This thinking is not merely a relic of fiction: in contemporary right-wing discourse, migrants or minorities whose physical appearance deviates from the majority population are often stigmatized as inherently criminal or dangerous. The persistence of these associations demonstrates how Lombroso’s legacy lives on in cultural stereotypes and discriminatory practices, even when discredited as scientific theory.
While modern biological criminology has moved beyond simplistic determinism, exploring genetic, neurological, and environmental interactions, it remains important to recognize how Lombroso’s ideas contributed to oppressive, dehumanizing policies in the past. A nuanced understanding acknowledges his role in advancing empirical criminology while critiquing the dangerous implications of his theories.
Literature
Primary Literature
- Lombroso, C. (2006). Criminal Man (trans. Mary Gibson & Nicole Hahn Rafter). Durham & London: Duke University Press.
Secondary Literature
- Bradley, K. (2010). „Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909)“. In Hayward, K., Maruna, S., & Mooney, J. (Eds.). Fifty Key Thinkers in Criminology. Routledge, pp. 25-29.
- Gibson, M. (2002). Born to Crime: Cesare Lombroso and the Origins of Biological Criminology. Westport.
- Goring, C. (1913). The English Convict: A Statistical Study. London: HMSO.
- Newburn, T. (2017). Criminology (3rd ed.). London & New York: Routledge.
