Criminology, History of Philosophy, and Discrete Mathematical Model of the Formal Axiology Related to Criminal Activity (Were the Outstanding Philosophers Authentic Criminals?)

Abstract. In this article, the history of philosophy is examined from the perspective of empirical criminology and the philosophy of crime. The biographies of notable philosophers reveal surprising insights. A criminological analysis of the history of philosophy shows that many respected philosophers faced suspicion, investigation, and prosecution; some were arrested, deprived of their freedom, imprisoned, or sent to exile. Some great philosophers were sentenced to capital punishment; others escaped from jail and emigrated. While some prominent philosophers managed to avoid these fates, many operated covertly, using pseudonyms and providing misinformation concerning their publishers and publishing locations. Nevertheless, some were ultimately detected and classified as “wanted” by law enforcement and secret church services. This article gathers, condenses, and connects these facts for the first time in academic literature, linking them to an abstract theoretical discussion on the metaphysics of crime. A philosophical perspective on crime is developed, suggesting that legal norms represent the stability of society, while crime embodies its mutability. The conditions of future life are not predetermined; thus, for long-term survival, society should maintain a limited subsystem of potential criminals at every stage of its development. Such a subsystem is essential for adequate adaptation to uncertain future conditions. However, in addition to this subsystem representing change (i.e., development through adaptation to new life conditions), society must also have a subsystem embodying non-change (stability) and self-preservation. These subsystems are mutually restrictive and complement the oppositional dynamics that characterize a developing society This article also introduces a discrete mathematical model that represents the formal axiological aspect of crime for the first time in the global academic discourse on criminology. According to this model, crime, empirical knowledge, and other phenomena are conceptualized as evaluation functions determined by two evaluative variables within the framework of formal axiological algebra.

criminology; history-of-philosophy; crime; value; discrete mathematical model; formal axiology; criminal activity

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