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Pardo & Patterson on Minds, Brains, & Norms

By Lawrence Solum

Michael S. Pardo and Dennis Patterson (University of Alabama School of Law and Rutgers University School of Law, Camden) have posted Minds, Brains, and Norms (Neuroethics, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Arguments for the importance of neuroscience reach across many disciplines. Advocates of neuroscience have made wide-ranging claims for neuroscience in the realms of ethics, value, and law. In law, for example, many scholars have argued for an increased role for neuroscientific evidence in the assessment of criminal responsibility. In this article, we take up claims for the explanatory role of neuroscience in matters of morals and law. Drawing on our previous work together, we assess the cogency of neuroscientific explanations of three issues that arise in these domains: rule following, interpretation, and knowledge. We critique these explanations and in general challenge claims as to the efficacy of the neuroscientific accounts.

Highly recommended.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on July 15, 2009 (boomark / email).