The positivist school was created in the 1800s and was based on the principle that the only way to truly understand something in society was to look at it from a scientific point of view (Adler, Mueller, and Laufer 2012 ). There were many people who contributed to the positivist school, however the person who first placed emphasis on a scientific approach was Auguste Comte (Adler et al 2012). By approaching criminology in a more scientific way, much more progress has been made, as people have started to look at the reasons for criminal behavior from a different perspective. Another key figure of the positive school was Charles Darwin (Adler et al 2012). When he proposed the theory of evolution, society became more open about its views on the world, as people began to rely more on science (Adler et al 2012). Thanks to the contributions of Comte and Darwin, the school of positive thinking was able to gain ground and, in turn, was able to help develop the field of criminology. After Comte and Darwin developed their theories about the world, they were followed by several criminologists who also believed that science could answer many of the problems present in society, particularly in the field of criminology. One of these men was Cesare Lombroso, who was the first to actually focus on criminology as a science (Adler et al 2012). Lombroso believed that criminals could be identified because of the physical differences between them and non-criminal members of society (Adler et al 2012). To recognize these people he created what he called the “atavic stigmata,” which are characteristics exhibited by less developed humans (Adler et al 2012:66). Individuals who exhibit... middle of paper ......school of criminology is one of the oldest and most influential principles in the history of criminology. It finally made people see criminals in a scientific way compared to some of the other less effective methods used previously. Although Cesare Lombroso was the first to apply positivism to criminology, this was made possible by the efforts of Auguste Comte, who was the first person to suggest trying to solve problems using scientific reasoning (Adler et al 2012). Charles Darwin's work was also able to make society more receptive to the idea that science is an acceptable way to answer questions and solve society's problems. These three men were able to make criminology a more legitimate and respected field. Works cited by Adler, Freda, Gerhard OW Mueller, and William S. Laufer. Criminology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.