general evaluation

• biological explanations are reductionist attempting to reduce complex behaviour down to the actions of chemicals and cells

  • they underestimate the role of environmental factors

  e.g. Ministry of Justice 2012 found that 29% of offenders suffered from some form of child abuse, 41% had witnessed violence at home
• biological explanations are deterministic, suggesting that criminal behaviour is predetermined by biological processes

  • there are therefore important implications for the issue of criminal responsibility. the criminal justice system assumes that criminals are responsible for their behaviour and therefore deserving of punishment