Naslov
Integrating legal categories with biocognitive data: the case of the insanity defence

Autori
Jurjako, Marko ; Malatesti, Luca ; Brazil, Inti

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, znanstveni

Skup
GWP.2022 – The Fourth International Conference of the German Society for Philosophy of Science

Mjesto i datum
Berlin, Njemačka, 15.08.2022. - 17.08.2022

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Criminal responsibility ; categorization ; the insanity defense ; biocognitive reclassification ; forensic philosophy

Sažetak
Advancements in the neurocognitive science of individuals with antisocial personality disorder might be of great significance for the application of insanity and similar defences in Law (Malatesti & McMillan 2010). However, so far, the investigation of whether psychopathic offenders or other individuals with antisocial personality disorders should be exculpated has reached stumbling blocks (Jalava & Griffiths, 2017 ; Jurjako & Malatesti, 2018). In this paper, to overcome these difficulties, we motivate and frame a proposal for a biocognition- informed recategorization of antisocial personality disorders aimed at differentiating accountable from not accountable offenders. We argue that we should not use syndrome-based categories for this task. These categories, as those used in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), are based on observed behaviour and inferences about unobservable characteristics and personality traits without aetiological considerations. The categories of this kind for antisocial personality disorder are problematic. In fact, they have delivered small or no advances in treatment, they have low validity, they cover heterogeneous groups of people, include comorbidity, with low prospects of integration with neuroscience, genetics, and neuropsychological paradigms (Lilienfeld, 2014). In our paper, we offer instead a Research domain criteria (RDoC) type of approach for the legal case and discuss some of the conceptual problems it must address. In psychiatry, RDoC research aims at providing valid measures of disorders by integrating the data on the genetic, neural, cognitive, and affective systems underlying psychiatric conditions (Lilienfeld, 2014). The goal is to use bottom-up neurobiological data to rebuild psychiatric categories (see Brazil et al., 2018). Similarly, we propose to rethink bottom-up certain legal categories, that are needed for insanity or similar types of defences, for a more effective use of available neuroscientific data and further research. Such an approach does not need to be reductive (Jurjako, Malatesti, Brazil 2020). However, it must strike a balance between the legal categories that are determined top-down by cognitive-behavioural classifications, and specific legal normative constraints, and neurocognitive bottom-up revisions of them. Specifically, our proposal needs to address the difficult interface problem of relating folk/psychological notions and explanations embedded in the legal formulation of defences and the data offered by neurocognitive science (Francken & Slors 2018). References Brazil, I. A., van Dongen, J. D. M., Maes, J. H. R., Mars, R. B., & Baskin-Sommers, A. R. (2018). Classification and treatment of antisocial individuals: From behavior to biocognition. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 91, 259–277. Francken, J. C., & Slors, M. (2018). Neuroscience and everyday life: Facing the translation problem. Brain and Cognition, 120(Supplement C), 67–74. Jalava, J., & Griffiths, S. (2017). Philosophers on Psychopaths: A Cautionary Tale in Interdisciplinarity. Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology, 24(1), 1– 12. Jurjako, M., & Malatesti, L. (2018). Neuropsychology and the Criminal Responsibility of Psychopaths: Reconsidering the Evidence. Erkenntnis, 83(5), 1003–1025. Jurjako, M., Malatesti, L., & Brazil, I. A. (2020). Biocognitive classification of antisocial individuals without explanatory reductionism. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(4), 957– 972. Lilienfeld, S. O. (2014). The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC): An Analysis of Methodological and Conceptual Challenges. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 62, 129–139. Malatesti, L., & McMillan, J. (Eds.). (2010). Responsibility and Psychopathy: Interfacing Law, Psychiatry and Philosophy. Oxford University Press

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Pravo, Psihologija, Filozofija, Interdisciplinarne humanističke znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA