세간을 긴장시키는 흉악범죄와 호기심을 자극하는 신종사건의 발생, 이어 등장하는 언론매체의 ‘여론몰이’, 소위 전문인들의 무책임한 ‘범죄학 만들기’, 그리고 즉흥적인 ‘대책 짜깁기’ 등으로 이어지는 일련의 뿌리가 없는 범죄공학에는 철학적 사유나 예술적 가치가 개입될 여지가 존재하지 않는다. 또한 인간 모두가 체험하는 보편적인 삶의 형태 - 예컨대, 삶과 죽음, 자유와 속박 - 보다는 특수상황으로서 강제적 형벌집행 - 예컨대, 구금, 징벌, 사형 - 이 중심이 되는 교정패러다임에서는 폐쇄성, 피동성, 안일성의 틀을 탈피하기 어렵다. 동시에 검증되지 않은 미시적 통계놀이가 학문적 중심으로 착각되고 시설내 사고방지가 효율적 관리의 목표가 되는 문화풍토에서는 형이상학적 사고놀이로 치부될 수 있는 소위 ‘철학적 범죄학’이나 ‘인문학적 교정학’은 영원한 노스텔지어적 이상향으로 남을 수밖에 없다. 따라서 기존 교정학의 전제와 실천적 규범이 더 이상 현실적으로 정당화되지 않는다는 비판을 통해 새로운 패러다임으로의 변증법적 논리형성과정을 거쳐야 한다. 구체적인 목표는 교정학의 비규범학화이며, 그 방법론으로 인문학적 접근이 제시될 수 있다. 인문학적 접근의 핵심적 내용은 철학적 사유, 영성적 추구, 예술적 가치의 지향을 통해 추론될 수 있을 것이다. 본질적인 인간의 생존과 삶의 향유 속에서 보편적이고 숙명적으로 체험하는 시간과 공간을 범죄학과 교정학의 출발점으로 삼아야 한다.

Correctional study as a discipline in Korea has been known as a sort of prison management or a manual of the penal code. It has drifted without establishing a firm academic identity. We note that it is ascribed to philosophical poverty or the lack of understanding in humanities. Since criminology and corrections as a discipline were introduced in Korea, scholars and practitioners have little concerned about the philosophical aspects of crime or corrections. Criminology and correctional study have not been disciplines of systematic philosophical debate, analysis, or critique. This paper takes the position that criminology(or corrections) and philosophy can not be separated if the former is to achieve its ideal goals. The purpose of this paper is to present the historical development of the concepts and study of crime through antiquity into postmodernity. It attempts to describe a sense of the ways in which philosophy has addressed the issue of crime, and how such concepts have been subjected to broader intellectual speculation and social transformation. It also tries to expose the sort of potentialities that philosophy embodies for criminology and provides more humane paradigm for corrections.

Correctional study as a discipline in Korea has been known as a sort of prison management or a manual of the penal code. It has drifted without establishing a firm academic identity. We note that it is ascribed to philosophical poverty or the lack of understanding in humanities. Since criminology and corrections as a discipline were introduced in Korea, scholars and practitioners have little concerned about the philosophical aspects of crime or corrections. Criminology and correctional study have not been disciplines of systematic philosophical debate, analysis, or critique. This paper takes the position that criminology(or corrections) and philosophy can not be separated if the former is to achieve its ideal goals. The purpose of this paper is to present the historical development of the concepts and study of crime through antiquity into postmodernity. It attempts to describe a sense of the ways in which philosophy has addressed the issue of crime, and how such concepts have been subjected to broader intellectual speculation and social transformation. It also tries to expose the sort of potentialities that philosophy embodies for criminology and provides more humane paradigm for corrections.

crime, philosophy, criminology, corrections.