Criminal Motivation

This article considers some of the problematic issues of criminal motivation, analyses its definitions, studies the approaches and evaluations of various researchers, etc. The author offers a range of specifications to the current concept of criminal motivation. First, he gives a definition of the «motive» based on the presence of a meaning-forming function in it, i.e. giving personal significance to the criminal activity. Second, he offers a non-classical approach to understanding the poli-motivation of the criminal activity, which assumes the existence of a «motivational pyramid», i.e. multi-level mental education, which includes primary and secondary forms of motivation for criminal behaviour. The author proposes that the criminal activity is caused by a complex of interrelated and mutual motives. In addition, a table with specific examples is developed, which presents the main types of needs and criminal motives that they cause. It includes description of more than thirty forms of criminal motives.