Between the “Banality of Evil” and the Monstrosity of the Criminal. Theories of the Alterity of the Criminal, from the Positivist School to the Modern Period

Abstract

There is an idea that seems able to cross the centuries, and that is found, in one form or another, in almost every society and legal system: that of otherness, of alterity, of the differentiation of the criminal from other human beings considered "normal". If a criminal is completely different, if he operates according to other laws, then this would generate some serious consequences such as: "I, an ordinary man, could never be a criminal"; we could protect society much more easily since we discovered the criminal stigma, we would identify criminals much more easily using a "magic recipe", which would make scientific studies and social reforms almost useless. Although almost entirely false, such conceptions still have a widespread appeal, including for criminal sciences.