This unit examines the implications of developments in the neurosciences for our understanding of morally significant cognitive capacities such as deliberation and self-control, and of conditions, such as addiction, which might impair these capacities and reduce moral or legal responsibility. It also addresses ethical and policy challenges for the law raised by, eg, improved lie detection techniques, new methods of assessing mental capacity, and more accurate ways of predicting dangerousness. Parallels will be drawn with similar developments in psychology and behavioural genetics to provide a historical and cross-disciplinary perspective on the role and authority of science in determining... -- Course Website
Instructor: Dr Nicole Vincent
Prerequisites: ((8cp in PHL or PSY units at 300 level) or (42cp in LAW units at 400 or 500 level)) and a GPA of 3.0 or admission to MA or PGDipArts or PGCertArts
