Not too long ago, I heard a presentation on the the brain and conflict resolution in which the speaker said dysfunctional brains are the cause of evil and crime. As regular readers know, I certainly do not agree with this reductionist view of human beings. So I was delighted to read a new paper by Professor Steven K, Erickson titled "Blaming the Brain." (Download here.) Excerpt:
People are more than their brains. Legal and social traditions have long held people accountable for their behavior under the presumption that most behavior is intentional and the product of conscious decision making. ...
Yet emerging conceptions of personhood generated by cognitive neuroscience suggests something very different than this entrenched view. Instead of people, cognitive neuroscience posits brains as the exclusive agents of behavior and suggests brains are incapable of blame because of their mechanical and determined nature. Minds and brains are held synonymous – thoughts, desires, and behaviors are regarded as no more than the yield of fixed neuronal tissue. ...
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But there are problems with the neuro-person model. Despite the claim by neuroscientists that the mind is accessible, measurable, and predictable, there are good reasons for skepticism on all of these fronts. Cognitive neuroscience, like all fields of science, utilizes assumptions to generate its conclusions. Chief among these is that the complexity of the mind can be understood by examining localized areas of the brain which are presumed indicative of how people think.
Note: My recent post about locationism.
If you are interested in the mind and the brain, what makes people do what they do, and self-responsibility, I urge you to read the whole paper. Although Erickson is looking particularly at neurolaw within the criminal justice system, this paper is an excellent read for all of us.
Here are two posts from idealawg about neurolaw:
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