Codification and Application of the Genetic-Social Framework

Abstract

The Genetic-Social sensitising device employed in this book has been used in earlier forms to suggest a ‘way forward’ beyond post-postmodern relativism, in tandem with its application to the study of human biotechnology in the work of Owen (2006b, 2009a) and applied by the author to several other areas of interest such as masculinities, Globalization, ageing, notions of ‘trust’ and professional power, among others. Notably, the framework has been recently applied to criminological theory in general in the work of Owen (2014), to ‘Virtual Criminology’ in the work of Owen and Owen (2015) and to ‘Cyber Violence’ in the work of Owen (2016). Here, it is applied to the study of crime and criminal behaviour with an emphasis upon behaviour within cyberspace in much greater depth. To recap, the ontologically flexible framework is an example of metatheory. It relies upon methodological generalisations as opposed to substantive generalisations, and multi-factorial analysis, preparing the ground for further theoretical and empirical investigation involving large-scale synthesis. The intention now is to show how the framework may be applied and how it may inform criminological theorising, particularly but not exclusively in relation to cybercrime, and first we must turn to what criminological theorising must avoid. This entails an examination of the latest incarnation of the Genetic-Social, metatheoretical framework in relation to the ‘cardinal sins’ of illegitimate reasoning. It is argued here that all these identified forms of theoretical reasoning have severe limitations for criminological theorising.