The brain’s crime

Science Between the Mind and Law

by Andrea Lavazza, Luca Sammicheli

The image of man used by Law, which is to say of a rational person that is in charge of his own actions, is undergoing a radical change due to the neurosciences. Recent studies show that emotions matter more than reason, and that our innermost selves are less solid than we think. We are therefore facing a reversal of perspective: is social action truly free? Is there any sense in punishing people that can “only” act in that way? Will there be more absolutions due to brain scans? Will psychopaths be “excused”? This book offers, for the first time, an updated panorama of the judicial, philosophical and social consequences of these delicate and complicated questions.