Criminal Man (L'Uomo Delinquente) considered in relation to Anthropology, Jurisprudence, and Psychiatry
Although my father's theories on the male criminal have already been set forth in the volume now presented to the public, I feel that it would not be inappropriate to add to the descriptions of his other important works a brief survey of the original book for the use of readers desirous of studying the subject more thoroughly.
The first volume is devoted to an investigation of the atavistic origin of crime among plants, animals, savages, and children. This is followed by an exhaustive study of the physical nature of the born criminal and the epileptic, modern craniology, the anomalies connected with the different classes of offences, the spine, pelvis, limbs, and physiognomy. The data given are based on the results obtained from the examination of about 7000 criminals.
In the study of the brain, the macroscopic anomalies in the convolutions and histological structure of the cerebral cortex of criminals and epileptics are the object of special consideration, since these anomalies solve the problem of the origin of criminality.
Certain additional degenerate characters, the prehensile foot, wrinkles, lines on the finger-tips, the ethmoid-lachrymal suture, anomalies of dentition, the existence of a single horizontal line on the palm of the hand, etc., are further described, and a careful examination made of the field of vision and olfactory and auditory sensibility.
The psychological examination of the criminal includes psychometry, the discovery of new characteristics, such as neophily, lack of exactitude, frequent existence of traits of genius, pictography, hieroglyphics, gestures, and the arts and crafts peculiar to the criminal.
Finally, the different types of offenders—epileptic and morally insane criminals, political and passionate offenders, inebriate, hysterical, and mentally unbalanced (mattoid) criminals—are described separately and compared with each other, their diversities and analogies being thrown into relief. Around these types are grouped juridical figures of crimes, reproduced from psychiatric forms. These are followed by an examination of occasional or pseudo-criminals, criminaloids, latent criminals, and geniuses.
The second volume treats of epileptics, and discusses, among other things, their ergography, psychology, graphology, and anomalies of the field of vision. The studies on criminals of passion are supplemented by observations on suicides and political offenders, those on the insane include investigations of their age, psychology, sex, tattooing, heredity, and the difference between insane and ordinary criminals with respect to the motives that prompt their crimes, and the manner in which these are carried out, thus furnishing a new theory of sexual psychopathy.
The third volume of the fifth edition treats of the etiology and cure of crime.
In the part dealing with the etiology of crime, the geological, ethnical, political, and economical factors determining or influencing criminality, as well as other causes,—density of population, food, alcoholism, sex, heredity, instruction, religion, etc., are examined statistically and sifted with critical care. For the first time, light is thrown on the influence exercised by criminality and wealth on the increase or decrease of emigration.