Similarities Between Cesare Beccaria And The Enlightenment

If you were to ask a group of scholars of their choice of a prominent figure from the Enlightenment Era, some will say Voltaire or Adam Smith. However, a good majority will reply with Cesare Beccaria, an Italian man who contributed to the Enlightenment Era as a jurist, philosopher, economist, and criminologist. Thus, as every other prominent Enlightenment thinker, Beccaria would continue to baffle the minds of many with his extraordinary ideas till the day of his death. Although we may no longer have his presence with us, we still have the works that he poured his “sweat and blood” to create. Nevertheless, Cesare Beccaria had truly accomplished what many Enlightenment philosophers have not done, that is, Cesare Beccaria had not only open our
From this point onward, Cesare had no longer yielded the touch of brilliance, as a result, the book “On Crimes and Punishments” became his only work to receive wide fame and recognition. To further elaborate on his writings, during the early 1760’s, Cesare Beccaria had become aware of using his writings as a method to voice his opinions to the general public, showcasing his opinion about the criminal justice system and the economy. For instance, within Cesare Beccaria’s magnum opus “On Crimes and Punishments,” many view the work as a method that Cesare used to critique the flaws in the criminal justice system and to resolve the problem with his take on the situation. To begin with, we first must analyze the books ongoing theme, as it contains and is influenced by Cesare’s opinion about the criminal justice system. Throughout the book, we the readers are a treated with Cesare’s two main themes or theories: First, the “Social Contract,” or in other words, a punishment is justified only to defend the social contract and to ensure that everyone will abide
For instance, Cesare Beccaria was a prominent influence on the process of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, influencing the construction of the rights that we see in our nation’s precious documents. Moreover, we can clearly see a huge influence of Cesare Beccaria within recent topics, such as truth in sentencing, swift punishment, and the discontinuation of the death penalty in some U.S. states. Whether Cesare Beccaria was a part of a party, publishing a work, or simply critiquing society, his ideology and influence exist after the many years it has remained solid. In conclusion, it is safe to say, Cesare Beccaria is and still will be, one of the best philosophers of the Enlightenment Period and an inspiration to our current