The Mind of the Criminal: Part 1

(Note: This essay is part one in a series)

We have all seen images of criminals either in jail, prison, or being arrested with shame pouring down upon them. Is there something deeper that lies in the psychology of criminals than meets the eye?

As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche stated in his book, “Twilight of the Idols,”:

“The criminal type is the type of the strong man amid unfavorable conditions, a strong man made sick. He lacks the wild and savage state, a form of nature and existence which is freer and more dangerous, in which everything that constitutes the shield and sword in the instinct of the strong man takes a place by right. Society puts a ban upon his virtues; the most spirited instincts inherent in him immediately become involved with the depressing passions, with suspicion, fear and dishonor. But this is almost the recipe for psychological degeneration.”

In other words, the criminal is a hard, strong-willed person who lives in a society with conditions which do not let them thrive. Society places rules and virtues that inhibit the strong-willed individual, turning them into a criminal.

Nietzsche further states:

“When a man has to do that which he is best suited to do, which he is most fond of doing, not only clandestinely, but also with long suspense, caution and ruse: he becomes anaemic; and inasmuch as he is always having to pay for his instincts in the form of danger, persecution, and fatalities, even his feelings begin to turn against these instincts - he begins to regard them as fatal.”

Meaning, that a person desires to do that which they enjoy and have the ability to do. When they are punished and harmed for this, they view their desires and instincts as being dangerous and deadly. A person who does this is basically self-attacking themselves. This is what turns the person into a criminal.

Nietzsche emphasizes this by saying:

“It is society, our tame, mediocre, castrated society, in which an untutored son of nature who comes to us from his mountains or from his adventures at sea, must necessarily degenerate into a criminal.”

That is to say, that person who is rugged and has a more primitive nature to them is not cut out for our weak and average society. By not playing by society’s rules this person becomes a criminal.

REFERENCES

Nietzsche, Friedrich (1889). Twilight of the Idols, pgs. 77-78. Wordsworth Editions Limited.