Ishaan Deepak Joshi, MIT-WPU, Faculty of Law
ABSTRACT
Deviance, as defined by William Graham Sumner an American sociologist and clergyman, refers to the act of contravening established social, cultural, or contextual standards, which encompass various forms such as traditions, customs, or codified law. Folkways encompass customary norms within a given culture that pertain to practical aspects of daily life, such as proper etiquette for using utensils, appropriate attire for various contexts, or respectful methods of greeting others. Mores refer to moral prohibitions or taboos that hold significant weight within a society and are widely acknowledged, such as the prohibition against incest. Codified laws refer to norms that are explicitly delineated in written codes and subsequently enforced by governmental entities. A crime can be understood as a deed of deviance that transgresses not only a social norm, but also a legal statute. Deviance encompasses a wide range of behaviours, varying from relatively trivial acts such as publicly engaging in nasal excavation, to significantly more severe transgressions such as perpetrating homicide. This article explores the correlation between social, psychological and criminal deviance.
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