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16 J. Contemp. Crim. Just. 3 (2000)

handle is hein.journals/jccj16 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITORIAL COMMENT Positivism, analytical theory, and metaphysics are three competing schools of thought that have dominated 20th-century philosophy. Positivism only recognizes concepts and claims that can be empirically validated. Therefore, when positivists identify (research) problems and solutions, the spiritual or the unseen is forced out of existence. Analytical theory, or what is commonly understood as postmodernism, challenges and deconstructs the body of knowledge derived from positivism. Postmodernism legitimizes subjective analysis and thus measures reality as a relative experience. Defying aspects of both schools of thought, metaphysics holds that higher truths exist inde- pendent of culture or context. Because it contemplates the transcendent, metaphysics attempts to answer the metaquestion, what is there? (Earle, 1992). By organizing and incorporating all forms of knowledge, metaphysics seeks to explain existing ideas, concepts, and categories, and to advance new ones as well. Toward identifying spirituality and forgiveness considerations in criminol- ogy and criminal justice, this issue of the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice honors each of these philosophical traditions. Its contents first display the approach and methods of positivism, followed by the subjectivism of postmodernism, and finally, the category-breaking approach of metaphysics. For example, Jacqueline B. Helfgott, Madeline L. Lovell, Charles F. Law- rence, and William H. Parsonage provide an empirical contribution by evalu- ating a restorative justice program operating in a U.S prison. Their study shows that the intended outcomes of the program can be achieved, namely, that inmates, victims, and community members can interact to embrace non- conflict-based attitudes. Yet, they note that other real emotional and psycho- logical benefits for participants can not be readily quantified. Byron R. Johnson, Spencer De Li, David Larson, and Mike McCullough examine religion's presence as an empirical variable in the criminological lit- erature. Through a quantitative method known as systematic review, the authors document the comparative absence of religion in models explaining crime and delinquency. Given that so many individuals are exposed to relig- ion in some form early in life, the authors speculate that its absence may be indicative of a broader disciplinary bias. Todd Clear, Patricia Hardyman, Bruce Stout, and Karol Lucken examine religion and the prison. As religious groups and certain policy makers pro- mote the success of spiritual teachings in reducing recidivism, this study Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Vol. 16 No. 1, February 2000 3-4 Q 2000 Sage Publications, Inc. 3 from the SAGE Social Science Collections. All Rights Reserved.

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