The article is designed to explore the main current trends in understanding the personality of the criminal, to identify problematic aspects in this sense, as well as to form proposals for overcoming them. It is established that currently in most scientific works the personality of the criminal is understood mainly in the sociological dimension, i.e. as a category that is subject to social or natural determinism, often ignoring the pre-modern metaphysical dimension of understanding this category. A number of ancient, medieval and modern philosophers’ approaches on the related issue are analysed. It is concluded that the understanding of the individual, which is provided through the name of his qualities, does not correlate with the notions of the personality as an independent subject of activity endowed with their own will, uninfluenced by external circumstances, which does not allow, in turn, to analyze the subjective side crime and eliminates the possibility of influencing a person in the framework of crime prevention. Therefore, the article analyzes modern and historical doctrinal and legal approaches to define the category of "crime”, describes problematic aspects of a formal approach to such definition and substantiate priority of a material approach. Then, the applicable criteria of public danger as one of the essential features of the crime are outlined. According to the results of the research, it is proposed to use the category "nature (essence) of the criminal " in further criminological research, understanding it as an individualized or generalized system of essential biopsychological and social qualities, properties, relationships that characterize a person, pose a social danger a crime, i.e. an unlawfully punishable act that generates real or potential socially dangerous consequences in the form of violation of fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms enshrined in universally recognized norms, principles and standards of international law, or justified public order established by the state.