This volume illustrates to the public, and legal experts, the basic principles of the field of neuroscience, that commonly goes under the name of Neurolaw. First, it illustrates the relationship between neuroscience, natural sciences and social sciences. Furthermore, it highlights numerous problems concerning the fundamental philosophical concepts used by Neurolaw and evaluates the validity of the method and the limits of a neuroscientific approach to the problems of law and justice.The volume explores the possibility of application of these concepts on the fundamentals of the general theory of law and legal dogmatics. It also examines the main problems of Neurolaw in relation to public, private, criminal and procedural law. In conclusion, the book follows a systematic method that makes it an thorough manual for the introduction to Neurolaw.

This collection presents a comparative perspective on interdisciplinary issues that fall under the emerging field of Neurolaw. The chapters embrace distinct procedural and evidential issues in the courtroom for vulnerable defendants, such as immature defendants, mentally disordered offenders and unfit-to-plead defendants, through a neuroscientific lens. This view is informed by worldwide analyses from legal academics, philosophers, and legal practitioners. The work brings together interdisciplinary and leading perspectives to discuss the use and relevancy of neuroscience at trial, and how the use of neuroscience is currently benefiting and impacting vulnerable defendants in global criminal trials. As such, the book builds upon and adds to the existing literature in this field by providing a comprehensive coverage of the intersection between these disciplines for vulnerable defendants in the courtroom. Key issues covered include: vulnerable defendants and the pre-trial process; the trial process; the use of neuroscience as expert evidence at trial; and vulnerable defendants, neuroscience and mitigation of sentence. Through original exploration presented by contributors from both academia and practice, the book will be of interest to academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of Criminal Law and Procedure.

Does neuroscience show that all our ideas about law and ethics are false? David Opderbeck answers this question with a broad and deep survey of the relationship between theology, science, and ethics. He proposes that Christian theology, which narrates the humanity and divinity of Christ, in conversation with the new Aristotelianism in the philosophy of science, provides a path through secular and religious fundamentalisms alike.

Whereas the past few years have repeatedly been referred to as the “era of biotechnology”, most recently the impression has emerged that at least the same degree of attention is being paid to the latest developments in the field of neurosciences. It has now become nearly impossible to maintain an overview of the number of research projects dealing with the functionality of the brain – for example concerning its organizational structure – or projects dealing with the topics of legal responsibility, brain-computer interface applications, neuromarketing, lie detection or mind reading. These procedures are connected to a number of legal questions concerning the framework conditions of research projects as well as the right approach to the findings generated. Given the primary importance of the topic for the latest developments, it is essential to compare the different legal systems and strategies that they offer for dealing with these legal implications. Therefore, the book International Neurolaw – A Comparative Analysis contains several country reports from around the world, as well as those of international organizations such as UNESCO, in order to show the different legal approaches to the topic and possible interactions.

Bioethics and the Law takes a multidisciplinary approach that combines legal discussion with jurisprudential, philosophical, and sociological materials. Strong expressions of different points of view highlight debates about bioethical issues. The text underscores the need to mediate between the law's focus on broad rules and the bioethicist's concern with context and detail. Students are required to consider the ethical implications of health care as a business, face the shifting parameters of the provider/patient relationship in healthcare, and understand the role of government in designing and implementing healthcare programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. Bioethics and the Law supplements the traditional focus of bioethics on the interest of the individual with a second focus on the socio-economic developments that shape healthcare. Connecting broad public healthcare issues to concerns of the individual patient/healthcare consumer, the text promotes understanding of unsettling and complex situations and shows the implications of bioethical developments for understandings of personhood. A helpful glossary defines basic terms and several short appendices summarize recent developments in science and technology.

This collection presents a comparative perspective on interdisciplinary issues that fall under the emerging field of Neurolaw. The chapters embrace distinct procedural and evidential issues in the courtroom for vulnerable defendants, such as immature defendants, mentally disordered offenders and unfit-to-plead defendants, through a neuroscientific lens. This view is informed by worldwide analyses from legal academics, philosophers, and legal practitioners. The work brings together interdisciplinary and leading perspectives to discuss the use and relevancy of neuroscience at trial, and how the use of neuroscience is currently benefiting and impacting vulnerable defendants in global criminal trials. As such, the book builds upon and adds to the existing literature in this field by providing a comprehensive coverage of the intersection between these disciplines for vulnerable defendants in the courtroom. Key issues covered include: vulnerable defendants and the pre-trial process; the trial process; the use of neuroscience as expert evidence at trial; and vulnerable defendants, neuroscience and mitigation of sentence. Through original exploration presented by contributors from both academia and practice, the book will be of interest to academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of Criminal Law and Procedure.

This landmark publication offers a unique comparative and interdisciplinary study of criminal insanity and neuroscience. Criminal law theories and ideologies which underpin the regulation of criminal insanity have always been the subject of controversy. The history of criminal insanity is characterised by conceptual and empirical tension between two disciplinary realms: the law and the mind sciences. The authors in this anthology explore in depth the state of the art of legal insanity and the numerous intricate, fascinating, pioneering and sophisticated questions raised by the integration of different criminal law and behaviour theories, diverse disciplines and methodologies, in a genuinely interdisciplinary perspective. This volume will serve as a practical guide for the comparative legal scholar and the judge, as well as stimulating scholarly reading for the neuroscientist, the social scientist and the philosopher with interdisciplinary scientific interests.

Clinical neuropsychologists frequently evaluate individuals within a forensic context, and therefore must address questions regarding the possible presence of reduced effort, response bias and/or malingering. This volume offers a wide range of instructive real-world case examples involving the complex differential diagnosis where symptom exaggeration and/or malingering cloud the picture. Written by expert forensic neuropsychologists, the scenarios described provide informed, empirically-based and scientifically-derived opinions on the topic. Issues related to malingering, such as response bias and insufficient effort, are discussed thoroughly with regard to a large number of clinical conditions and assessment instruments. Test data and non-test information are considered and integrated by the numerous experts. Expert guidance for clinicians who must address the issue of malingering is provided in a straightforward and well-organized format. To date, there has not been a comparable collection of rich case material relevant to forensic practice in clinical neuropsychology.

This volume makes a contribution to the field of neurolaw by investigating issues raised by the development, use, and regulation of neurointerventions. The broad range of topics covered in these chapters reflects neurolaw's growing social import, and its rapid expansion as an academic field of inquiry. Some authors investigate the criminal justice system's use of neurointerventions to make accused defendants fit for trial, to help reform convicted offenders, or to make condemned inmates sane enough for execution, while others interrogate the use, regulation, and social impact of cognitive enhancement medications and devices. Issues raised by neurointervention-based gay conversion "therapy", efficacy and safety of specific neurointervention methods, legitimacy of their use and regulation, and their implications for authenticity, identity, and responsibility are among the other topics investigated. Dwelling on neurointerventions also highlights tacit assumptions about human nature that have important implications for jurisprudence. For all we know, at present such things as people's capacity to feel pain, their sexuality, and the dictates of their conscience, are unalterable. But neurointerventions could hypothetically turn such constants into variables. The increasing malleability of human nature means that analytic jurisprudential claims (true in virtue of meanings of jurisprudential concepts) must be distinguished from synthetic jurisprudential claims (contingent on what humans are actually like). Looking at the law through the lens of neurointerventions thus also highlights the growing need for a new distinction — between analytic jurisprudence and synthetic jurisprudence — to tackle issues that increasingly malleable humans will face when they encounter novel opportunities and challenges.

How often is the defense of insanity or temporary insanity for accused criminals valid—or is it ever legitimate? This unique work presents multidisciplinary viewpoints that explain, support, and critique the insanity defense as it stands. What is the role of "the insanity defense" as a legal excuse? How does U.S. law handle criminal trials where the defendant pleads insanity, and how does our legal system's treatment differ from those of other countries or cultures? How are insanity defenses used, and how successful are these defenses for the accused? What are the costs of incarceration versus psychiatric treatment and confinement? This book presents a range of expert viewpoints on the insanity defense, exposing common myths; investigating its effectiveness and place in our legal system through history, case studies, and comparative analysis; and supplying perspectives from the disciplines of psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and neuroscience. The content also addresses the ramifications of declaring citizens insane or incapacitated and examines trials that involved pleas of insanity and temporary insanity.