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On Children Becoming Criminals: Aristotle’s Habituation as an Argument Against the

Lowering of Age of Criminal Liability

It is only in the celebration of the daily life of man that their true character can

become known to the world and partially to themselves; it is in choosing consistently,

amongst various banalities, that the true personhood of an individual can accurately be

manifested. And so, while one may choose to live a life of virtue and be considered as a

virtuous individual, the other may live a life of vice and be referred to as the opposite; yet, in

both cases, the complex human can only choose in the context of reality that is complex in

itself. It is then necessary to question the proposal of the national government, wherein

individuals, particularly those of young age, considered by musings of society as ‘immoral,’

are hurled helplessly into the defective justice system of the country, and subjected to a

vicious cycle of criminality. The paper seeks to answer the necessary question of criminal

liability, at such a young age, through the concept of habituation as discussed in Aristotelian

philosophy.

In the political context of the Philippines, the question becomes even more urgent as

discussions of a proposed house bill lowering of the age of criminal liability continue to

resurface. As the constituents of the government decide behind closed doors, citizens

continue to clamor, in hopes of hastening a process that fails children in conflict with the law.

It is important to note however, that it is not the legislation itself that subjects these children

to abject oppression: supposedly, the Department of Social Welfare and Development,

through centers aptly called ‘Bahay Pag-Asa’ or ‘Houses of Hope,’ are those who are tasked

to oversee the rehabilitative process that children in conflict with the law ought to undergo. 1

In certain cases, however, for municipalities and areas that severely lack the financial

resources, the proposed rehabilitation centers are far from feasible. In fact, as of January
1 Glenda Castro, “Lowering age of criminal liability contradicts laws protecting children,”
Rappler, February 8, 2019, cf. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/222335-lowering-age-of-crim
inal-liability-contradicts-laws-protecting-children (accessed April 6, 2019).
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2019, a report states that only 58 ‘Bahay Pag-Asa’ centers out of the 63 constructed remain

functional; among these 58, other centers are categorised by the Juvenile Justice Welfare

Council of the country as having ‘subhuman conditions.’ 2 As a last resort, children who are

ruled guilty in court are brought to regular correctional facilities, children are nestled amongst

thieves, murderers, and rapists among others, segregated enough to maintain necessary

personal space, but not nearly enough to cater a rehabilitative environment conducive for the

child’s transformative process of reformation. Thus, no rehabilitation nor reintegration takes

place, but rather, due to habituation formed through constant interaction with hardened

criminals, criminality latently melds into the character of the child.

It can be argued that the philosophy of Aristotle takes a firm stance in opposition of

such legislation, as in the Nicomachean Ethics, the philosopher highlights the importance of

habit formation in the period of one’s youth. He specifically stated that habits formed at a

young age are not to be overlooked, for they do not make ‘small differences,’ they make

‘great differences,’ if not ‘all the difference.’3 A scholarly article that delves deeply into the

concept of character formation explains that the importance of habituation, particularly for

the youth, is that habit and experience precedes rationality and intellect; long before one can

undergo the formalities of education, a child is already expected to have undergone

habituation.4 As a result, children, which Aristotelian considers as individuals that possess no

capabilities of rational and critical thought, develop a pattern of emotional responses towards

certain actions and their respective ends; it is through these ideas that it becomes apparent

2 Gaea Cabico, “CHR calls for establishment of more Bahay Pag-asa centers,” Philstar,
January 22, 2019, cf. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/01/22/1887483/chr-calls-establish
ment-more-bahay-pag-asa-centers (accessed April 6, 2019).

3 Aristotle, Lesley Brown, and W. D. Ross, The Nicomachean Ethics (Oxford: OUP Oxford,
2009), 24.

4 Wei Liu, "Creating Character: Aristotle on Habituation, the Cognitive Power of Emotion,
and the Role of Prudence," Frontiers of Philosophy in China vol. 7, no. 4 (2012): 534.
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that habit is not only a precedent to rational thought, but is a “necessary prerequisite” of it. 5

The development of such patterns can be problematic at youth, as a period particularly

concerned with character formation. Particularly, in cases similar to those that the proposed

bill seek to penalize, children with insufficient critique and rational thought who exposed to

immoral contexts for extended periods of time, such as a correctional facility, may lead to a

development of immoral habits and misguided patterns of emotional responses. As habit is

considered as the necessary prerequisite for an individual’s education, to educate an

individual accustomed to immoral habits about the value of ethics and is an arduous task, if

not impossible. Additionally, Aristotle enforces the impossibility of ‘goodness in the strict

sense’ in the absence of practical wisdom, or in this case, misplaced practical wisdom, and

thus, to subject the youth to contexts such as correctional facilities, which primarily foster

immoral habits, would mean to rob them of their potential to be ‘good.’6

On the other hand, it is also central to the philosophy of Aristotle that habituation is a

key to the formation of one’s character: as a virtuous man becomes virtuous through

consistent virtuous acts, a just man becomes just through consistent just acts, and so on. 7 In a

similar manner, albeit in contrast to Aristotle’s example, an individual who consistently

commits crimes is a considered a criminal. The severity, lies in the fact that through

Aristotelian philosophy, an individual is not a criminal only because he has committed a

crime, but because criminality has become the character of the individual; though not

permanent, the person has become inseparable to crime. Children who are treated as

criminals and situated alongside criminals are taught to habituate criminality, it can be said

then that they are conditioned to be criminals: as an article mentions, habituation at a young

5 Jiyuan Yu, “"Ethos" and Habituation in Aristotle." Frontiers of Philosophy in China vol. 7,
no. 4 (2012): 522.

6 Aristotle, Brown, and Ross, The Nicomachean Ethics, 117.

7 Ibid, 23.
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age is not attained through the rationality of the self, but under the guidance of others. 8 In

truth, what occurs in the enforcement of a child’s criminal liability opposes the purpose of the

legislation, in lieu of a transformative rehabilitation, through the Aristotelian concept of

habituation, children in conflict with the law are raised in a criminal environment, assimilate

criminal habits, and grow to embody criminality. The awful reality that Aristotle’s

philosophical concepts implies is best exemplified in a 2005 documentary entitled ‘Bunso,’ or

‘The Youngest.’9 The documentary tackles the complexities that surround legislation

concerned with the criminal liability of children, especially for those from impoverished

backgrounds. It allows for an in-depth critique of the flaws that is present in the detention and

criminalization of children, through the lens of children placed into a same correctional

facility where they are inculturated by drug pushers, rapists, and murderers; notably, one of

the children featured sits in jail for theft, a crime he committed in order to feed his starving

siblings. Ultimately, through an extended period of intimate interaction with adult criminals

that results in habituation and characterization, children are released only to find themselves

stuck in a cycle of criminality, either thrown back into prison or left to die.

Is it then possible to speak on behalf of Aristotle and formulate arguments against the

proposed bill that lowers the age of criminal liability using the esteemed philosophers

concepts? Perhaps so, with consideration for the flawed system present in the context of the

country, as Aristotle explicitly states that good legislation is one that forms exemplary

citizens through the formation of good habit, that which our current judiciary fails to do. 10

Those who oppose the bill recognize that such oppressive legislation would only lead to the

reinforcement of misguided habits and subject children to a life of further criminality. Yet,

8 Jiyuan Yu, “"Ethos" and Habituation in Aristotle." Frontiers of Philosophy in China vol. 7,
no. 4 (2012): 521.

9 Bunso: The Youngest, directed by Ditsi Carolino (UNICEF, 2005), Screening (UNICEF
2016).
10 Aristotle, Brown, and Ross, The Nicomachean Ethics, 23.
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overwhelming support continues to be displayed by the general public, their clamor continues

to bang loudly like drums, calling for the immediate passing of a bill that alienates children,

in the belief that to do so would be for the greater good. It should then be man’s duty, to

ensure that children, yet unripe for rational inquiry and critical thought, are given the

opportunity to be individuals not confined by their ‘criminality.’

Man is formed through the banal as manifested by his habits, but only because man

has rational capabilities, his habits are his conscious choosing and only so, he may be

characterized by his choices. The same cannot be said for children, children only form habits

are a response to what they observe. It is the ultimate task, not only of legislation, as Aristotle

states, but of all men to create a society that aspires to form excellent and moral individuals.

To abandon a child for crimes they have yet to understand will create a generation of

criminals, not because it is inherent in them, but because society has chosen to feed them to

the wolves instead of providing them with the necessary avenues for reformation. (1405)
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aristotle, Lesley Brown, and W. D. Ross. The Nicomachean Ethics. Oxford: OUP Oxford,
2009.

Cabico, Gaea Katreena. “CHR calls for establishment of more Bahay Pag-asa centers.”
Philstar. January 22, 2019, https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019 /
01/22/1887483 /chr-calls-establishment-more-bahay-pag-asa-centers. Accessed April
6, 2019.

Bunso: The Youngest. Directed by Ditsi Carolino. UNICEF, 2005. Screening.

UNICEF, 2016.

Castro, Glenda Marie. “Lowering age of criminal liability contradicts laws protecting
children.” Rappler. February 8, 2019, https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/222335-
lowering-age-of-criminal-liability-contradicts-laws-protecting-children.
Accessed April 6, 2019.

Liu, Wei. "Creating Character: Aristotle on Habituation, the Cognitive Power of Emotion, and
the Role of Prudence." Frontiers of Philosophy in China vol. 7, no. 4 (2012): 533-
549.

Yu, Jiyuan. ""Ethos" and Habituation in Aristotle." Frontiers of Philosophy in China vol. 7,
no. 4 (2012): 519-532.