Criminal Responsibility and Neuroscience: No Revolution Yet

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Ariane Bigenwald¹  Valerian Chambon² 

[1] Département de Philosophie, Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne;Institut Jean Nicod (ENS – EHESS – CNRS), Département d’Etudes Cognitives, PSL University

关键词: criminal responsibility;    liability;    free will;    sense of agency;    neuroscience;    neurolaw;    cognitive bias;    moral agent;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01406

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Since the 1990’s, neurolaw is on the rise. At the heart of heated debates lies the recurrent theme of a neuro-revolution of criminal responsibility. However, caution should be observed: the alleged foundations of criminal responsibility (amongst which free will) are often inaccurate and the relative imperviousness of its real foundations to scientific facts often underestimated. Neuroscientific findings may impact on social institutions, but only insofar as they also engage in a political justification of the changes being called for, convince populations, and take into consideration the ensuing consequences. Moreover, the many limits of neuroscientific tools call for increased vigilance when, if ever, using neuroscientific evidence in a courtroom. In this article, we aim at setting the basis for future sound debates on the contribution of neuroscience to criminal law, and in particular to the assessment of criminal responsibility. As such, we provide analytical tools to grasp the political and normative nature of criminal responsibility and review the current or projected use of neuroscience in the law, all the while bearing in mind the highly publicized question: can neuroscience revolutionize criminal responsibility? Answering this question implicitly requires answering a second question: should neuroscience revolutionize the institution of criminal responsibility? Answering both, in turn, requires drawing the line between science and normativity, revolution and dialogue, fantasies and legitimate hopes.

【 授权许可】

CC BY