How did the classical school of penology explain criminal acts and punishment?

The classical school of penology, which emerged in the 18th century through the work of figures such as Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham, fundamentally shifted how society approached criminal justice.12

View of Criminal Acts

The classical school operated on the assumption that human beings are rational actors. It posited that every criminal act is a deliberate choice made by an individual who calculates the prospective pleasures and pains associated with the contemplated behavior. Because crime was viewed as a rational decision, the school largely ignored the personal characteristics, social circumstances, or individual needs of the defendant.312

Philosophy of Punishment

The primary objective of the classical school was to reform the legal system by replacing arbitrary and barbaric practices with a systematic, humanitarian approach. Its core tenets included:12

• Deterrence and Proportion: Punishment was intended to serve as a deterrent. To be effective, penalties were designed to be just severe enough to overbalance the assumed advantages of the crime. This required that punishments be strictly proportionate to the gravity of the offense; otherwise, there would be no incentive for an offender to choose a lesser crime over a greater one.214
• Certainty over Severity: Beccaria argued that the effectiveness of the justice system relied more on the certainty of being caught and punished than on the severity of the penalty itself.5
• Due Process: The school advocated for the principle of nulla poena sine lege (no punishment without law), seeking to limit the caprice of magistrates and ensure legal procedures were transparent and consistent.2
• Rejection of Excess: Excessive or brutal punishments, such as torture or unnecessary use of the death penalty, were considered both unjust and ineffective.15