Description
Intentional Culpability as a Result of Sociocultural Conditioning
Book Summary
This work proposes a critical review of the concept of culpability in criminal law, questioning the validity of the traditional "average man" as a benchmark for measuring the capacity for normative motivation. The author, Jordi Cabezas Salmerón, argues that sociocultural and economic determinants significantly affect a subject's motivation regarding the law, generating demotivating effects comparable to those of classic figures such as incapacity or error. Through a rigorous analysis, the book defends the need to incorporate these factors significantly into the determination of culpability, in application of the principle of equality before the law understood as the unequal treatment of unequals.
What is it about?
The book addresses the tension between classical criminal dogmatics and the social reality of a society that generates inequalities. It is based on the premise that the "average man," a traditional figure used as a barometer to measure the motivational capacity of all individuals, is insufficient and unjust when applied to people whose spheres of belonging are marked by adverse sociocultural and economic conditions. The work equates these conditions to classic causes of the exclusion of culpability, such as incapacity or error, arguing that, although their etiology is different, they generate similar demotivating effects. Thus, it proposes that in any trial, the "average man" must yield ground to the "real man," significantly integrating these factors into the assessment of intentional culpability.
Main Topics
- Intentional culpability and its determination in criminal law.
- Sociocultural and economic determinants as factors that demotivate compliance with the law.
- Critique of the figure of the "average man" as a universal benchmark for motivation.
- Principle of equality before the law and its interpretation as the unequal treatment of unequals.
- Equating sociocultural determinants with classic causes of the exclusion of culpability (incapacity, error).
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at professionals and scholars of criminal law, criminology, and the general theory of law, as well as advanced students of these disciplines. It is also of interest to jurists, judges, and lawyers seeking a critical and updated perspective on the application of the principle of equality in criminal justice, and to social science researchers interested in the intersection between law, society, and inequality.
What this book provides
- A well-founded critique of the figure of the "average man" as a standard of normative motivation.
- A theoretical framework for integrating sociocultural and economic determinants into the assessment of culpability.
- A proposal to equate these factors with classic causes of the exclusion of culpability, based on the principle of equality.
- Conceptual tools for a more just criminal trial adapted to social reality.
Technical Specifications
- Author: Cabezas Salmerón, Jordi
- Publisher: Anthropos Editorial
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: LITERARY ESSAYS, LAW, GENERAL THEORY OF LAW, CRIMINOLOGY, INTERNATIONAL LAW, CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE, CRIMINAL JUSTICE LAW, LAW: STUDY AND REVISION GUIDES
- Collection: SOCIAL SCIENCES
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: May 2014
- Number of pages: 304
- Weight: 366 g
Editorial Review
This is a rigorous and necessary work that invites a rethinking of fundamental concepts of criminal law from a social and critical perspective. Its proposal to integrate sociocultural determinants into the determination of culpability is especially relevant in a context of growing attention to structural inequalities. The book offers a solid and well-argued analysis that can enrich academic and professional debate, as well as judicial practice, by proposing a more realistic and equitable approach to the application of criminal justice.