Effective Conditions on Emergence of Imprisonment
Hakan Karakehya, Hande ÖzgerThe modern process refers to the process of social, economic and cultural change that began in Europe, especially from the second half of the 17th century, and then influenced the whole world. The modern process has three basic elements: industrialization, artistic–cultural change, and enlightenment. The sub-elements of the modern process that pave the way for the change of public punishment and thus, the birth of prison are: 1) Increased valuing of human beings, 2) The spread of the belief that tomorrow will be better by accepting science as fundamental value, and 3) The spread of the concept of discipline and awareness of the importance of surveillance. Both the increase in the importance of the human body and the fact that human beings are perceived as individuals who can determine their own way of life have led to the idea that punishments which are incompatible with human dignity and which involve direct physical violence cannot be applied to human beings. The fact that science has become a fundamental value and the idea that the future will be more beautiful for humanity through science has led to the idea that criminals can be rehabilitated in confinement through science. Finally, the concept of discipline has become widespread in the modern process and it has been seen that surveillance is the most effective way of ensuring discipline in the society. Prisons have been built as the most suitable places for the surveillance and thus, the disciplinary reform of the criminals.
Hürriyeti Bağlayıcı Cezaların Ortaya Çıkışında Etkili Olan Koşullar
Hakan Karakehya, Hande ÖzgerModern süreç, özellikle 17. yüzyılın ikinci yarısından itibaren Avrupa’da başlayan ve sonrasında tüm dünyayı etkisi altına alan, sosyal, ekonomik ve kültürel değişim sürecini ifade eder. Modern sürecin ya da daha yaygın kullanımı ile modernizmin üç temel sacayağı vardır. Bunlar; sanayileşme, sanatsal-kültürel değişim ve aydınlanmadır. Modern sürecin kamusal cezalandırmanın değişimine ve dolayısıyla hapishanenin doğuşuna zemin hazırlayan alt unsurları ise; 1) İnsanın öneminin artması, 2) Bilimselliğinin temel değer haline gelerek, yarının daha güzel olacağı inancının yaygınlaşması, 3) Disiplin kavramının yaygınlaşması ve gözetimin öneminin farkına varılması şeklinde sıralandırılabilir. Gerek insan bedeninin öneminin artması gerekse de insanın kendi yaşam yolunu aklıyla belirleyebilen bir birey olarak görülmeye başlanması, ona karşı insan onuruyla bağdaşmayan ve doğrudan fiziksel şiddet içeren cezaların uygulanamayacağı düşüncesini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Bilimselliğin temel değer haline gelmesi ve bilim sayesinde geleceğin insanlık için daha güzel olacağı düşüncesinin yaygınlaşması ise suçluların da bilim yoluyla ıslah edilebileceği düşüncesini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Son olarak disiplin kavramı da modern süreçte yaygınlaşmış ve toplum içinde disiplini sağlamanın en etkili yolunun gözetim olduğu görülmüştür. Hükümlülerin gözetlenmesi ve böylelikle disipline edilmesi için en uygun mekanlar olarak ise hapishaneler inşa edilmiştir.
Like all social disciplines, law undergoes certain transformations according to time and place. Criminal law is also affected by these changes as a branch of law. An action considered a crime for a while may be decriminalized and may even come to be described as a virtuous behavior. Again, some types of punishment that are applied as the most correct form can be abandoned over time for reasons such as not performing the function of protecting the society from crime. This was similar in the modernization process.
The modern process refers to the social, economic, and cultural change that started in Europe in the second half of the 17th century and subsequently influenced the whole world. Physical punishments applied in pre-modern punishment systems were abandoned during the modern process and replaced almost entirely with prison sentences. It is considered that some sub-elements of the modern process laid the groundwork for the change in public punishment, hence, the birth of the prison in this transformation. These sub-elements are increased valuing of human beings, the spread of the belief that tomorrow will be better by accepting science as fundamental value, and the spread of the concept of discipline and awareness of the importance of surveillance.
In the modern process, the importance of humanity has increased with the effects of industrialization and the humanism movement which emerged with the idea of enlightenment. While for industrialization, humanity has gained more importance as a productive power, humanism has enabled the human being to be accepted as an entity, a complex unity of body and soul. As a matter of fact, in the pre-modern period, the body was accepted only as a means of ripening the soul and was despised. Modern punishment systems are so designed that they do not harm the body, which is both a part of the human being and has the power of production and/but disciplines them to contribute to the development of mechanized individuals following the requirements of the industrial society.
It can be said that the hope for the future has increased in the modern process because science has become the fundamental value and with it a strong trust in science. Indeed, when the works of modern thinkers are examined, a firm belief is seen that tomorrow will be better. Underneath this thought lies the trust in reason, science and the human being who will attain the true truth through reason and science. Reason and scientificity came to the fore with the effect of enlightenment thought in the modern process; when it was believed that human beings will dominate nature through reason and science and will use it for their own benefit. According to modernism, humans are also a part of nature and criminals can be brought back into society disciplined by means of reason and science. Hence the belief that tomorrow will be more beautiful as a result of the fact that science had become the fundamental value in the modern process and the strong trust in science has led to the idea of rehabilitation of the criminals.
Another issue affecting the punishment system in the modern period is the spread of the concept of discipline and an understanding of the effectiveness of surveillance. As mentioned above, the main purpose of punishment systems in the modern period is to discipline the criminal. Although it is held that disciplining is generally a process of harmonization with the society, it can be said that the main purpose is to create mechanized individuals following the requirements of the industrial society. This function is carried out not only through prisons but also through schools, religious institutions and military institutions to spread to the whole society. In the modern period, the power of the body increased through discipline and by controlling this power very effectively, the body was imprisoned in a strict dependency relationship. In addition to places such as schools, hospitals, religious institutions, and production areas, prisons have also been important application areas of discipline. These areas are already in integrity between each other so that the mechanical individuals mentioned in a holistic structure are developed. Regarding discipline, it is important to be able to discipline an individual or a society; it is first required to know and understand it well. Understanding the individual or society which is desired to be disciplined passes through surveillance. Therefore, the most important tool of the discipline institutions in the modern process has been surveillance. Consequently, prisons were built as the most suitable places for the observation and, thus, discipline of the criminals.
