Routledge Neuroscience, Ethics, and Criminal Punishment: An Introduction

In some cases in the US, offenders have been made to take anti-psychotic drugs in order to restore competence to stand trial, or even to receive punishment. If such neurointerventions can change a person's behaviour can they be used to treat and more controversially, predict and prevent crime? Once a fantasy portrayed in films such as Minority Report such questions are fast-becoming fundamental ones for policy, law and ethics. This is the first book to introduce and explain the fundamental concepts, problems and debates around neuroscience, ethics and crime. After a helpful introduction the authors examine the following topics: Criminal justice, harm and the problem of punishment: why punish? Cognitive and behavioural neuroscience: a short introduction Reading minds: can brain scans replace lie detector tests and predict reoffending? Neuroscientific assessments of competency Compulsory neurointerventions: can changing the brain be used to increase empathy and reduce violent urges? Voluntary neurointervention: is it wrong to administer neurointerventions even if the offender agrees to receive the neurointervention? Neuroscience, free will and moral responsibility Broader issues in criminal justice, including the justification of criminal punishment and the role of moral intuitions in decision-making. Additional features, such as chapter summaries, annotated further reading and a glossary make this an excellent resource for students of philosophy and those in related disciplines such as philosophy, criminology, law and criminal justice.