A psychoanalytical understanding of crimes

It is certain that many of us imagine a society without crimes. Every day, we learn about the occurrences of crimes and profoundly wish that they would stop. We make comments on social media, challenge the government via petitions and rallies, publish articles reminding the public of the looming danger and about the government about its failure to maintain the rule of law. However, history has not been so kind as to crystallize this utopian desire. 

A crime is an act or an omission which is defined as a crime by the criminal law of the land, bearing certain penalties upon the wrongdoer leading to a prosecution by the state. This general meaning has three elements: an act or an omission, definition by the criminal law and prescription of penalties. The absence of any one element does not amount to a crime. 

The above concept, which is endorsed by countless criminologists, is however controversial. Lucia Zedner in her book Criminal Justice (2004) criticizes the culture of defining crimes and associating punishments with them to be “remote from the social world.” She points out the obvious threat that if the criminal law does not ‘define’ crimes, there would be no crimes at all. 

In this article, I will focus on ‘criminal acts’. One of the tools to unravel the mystery behind crimes is the psychoanalytic theory propounded by the Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud assumed that an individual’s personality had three components: id, ego, and superego. He claimed that at an individual’s birth, their psychic energy resides in the id. It is the irrational and impulsive part which compels the person to satisfy their biological needs. That is why infants cry when they are hungry, or they wet themselves. 

When infants become toddlers, they develop cognition and critical thinking skills. It signifies the development of the ego which motivates them to discover rational and realistic ways of satisfying their needs. At this stage, they ask their parents to feed them and do not cry like they used to. Between three to six years of age, they develop the superego i.e., their internalized moral standards (conscience). They attain these moral standards mostly through their parents. These standards keep individuals civil and disciplined in society. The superego acts as a bridge between id’s gratifications and ego’s rational means of satisfying those gratifications. It emanates guilt and shame within individuals when they engage in condemnable acts. These tools of psychoanalytic theory enable us to contemplate, in a way, why an individual would commit a crime. The absence of a dynamic balance between these elements leads to deviant acts such as crimes. 

Let us remind ourselves of the abysmal social conditions of the Nepali society, particularly about homicide. It was reported by a daily newspaper on 8 Dec 2019 that 6,233 cases of murder were reported in the fiscal year 2018/19. The reasons could be as trivial as a fit of rage or as complex as a conspired killing. Unlike crimes like theft, robbery, simple hurt, where victims survive, heal, and try to get their life back to normalcy, homicide decimates all chances of persons functioning again. News like these cause people to doubt their surroundings and challenge their security. The death of people generates a ripple effect that disrupts the psychological barrier of the entire nation. 

A psychoanalyst would attribute the causes of this atrocity to factors such as intense rage, suppressed anger, unresolved antagonism, and such. I will share a generalized scenario as to how those Freudian standards come into play.

Let us assume that person A harbors a strong animosity towards another person B. Communication could help solve the tension; however, many people struggle to communicate so they rather keep things to themselves. Alternately, some people generate so much hostility that they view violence as the last resort. Thus, they set the crime in motion. They lose patience, self-control, and enjoy their false sense of gratification. It is only after the completion of the crime that the perpetrator starts thinking about the consequences. 

When person A develops a strong animosity towards person B, they will seek vengeance to satisfy their id. A’s ego will communicate with their id about rational methods to attain this satisfaction. The ego will evaluate whether it will bring about desired outcomes. In this situation, their superego will compute the pros and cons of settling down the matter via violence. 

This can proceed in two ways. If A has a strong superego, then they will either let the matter go or talk to B about it in a civilized way. If A has a fragile superego, then they will seek out immoral and inhumane methods of satisfying their id. One of the ways they will seek, is killing. Their level of conscience and self-control plummet to such a stunted level that they can no longer evaluate the consequences of their acts. It is certain that a part of their conscience will tell them to stop but their urge to satisfy their id becomes immense enough to neglect all the consequences. Thus, they will materialize their criminal intent.

How can we resolve this issue? When I think about it, there is an absence of adequate moral education from both the parents and the school. Parents and schools educate children about good manners to children and penalize them for misconduct. Since the superego proves to be the strongest of the three, it must be robust.

How can we make it robust? While we focus on academics, we must also learn to become patient, cognizant and moral. Our society emphasizes on teaching children about moral and humane notions, through holy texts like the Ved, the Tripitak, the Quran, the Bible and more. These are not merely books but guidance towards a civil and virtuous life. 

Yet something is lacking. Why is there a significant gap between people’s id, ego, and superego? We shall learn patience and virtues from our cultural roots and teach our children the same. We could also research new knowledge to obtain inner stability. These endeavors do pose as solutions to people’s inner conflicts. However, I still think the answer lies somewhere in being patient and vigilant about consciousness and behavior.