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Guest Author: Malcolm Blake

Few subjects arouse so universal or so deep an interest as the study of crime. This interest is due in the main to the adventurous and romantic traits in human nature. Criminal conduct appeals to these human traits because it is regarded as being a spontaneous response to impulse, and even the most prosaic and conventional individual chafes to a certain extent under the restrictions of law and morality. If this interest is not so great as to become morbid, it may have great utility, because crime is both a serious practical problem and an important subject for scientific study. 
 
During the past century the extent to which scientific methods have been applied to the study of human and social phenomena has increased greatly. To be sure, there still is much opposition to the scientific study of these phenomena. Some of this opposition arises from anthropocentric notions with regard to the exalted position of man in the universe. Some of it arises from anti-scientific theological dogmas. Some of it is due to propagandists who are eager to push through certain social reforms, and are therefore unwilling to await the results of careful and cautious scientific investigation. All of this opposition creates a prejudice against attributing human conduct to natural causes. But slowly this opposition is being overcome, and crime will before long be regarded as a purely natural phenomenon.