Neural basis of human morality: state of the art and a theoretical proposal for Law
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17808/des.54.1228Keywords:
review, neuroscience of morality, norms, complex legal constructivismAbstract
Modern cognitve neuroscience is a field of research that focuses on studying the neural bases of uniquely human traits such as morality and the ability to make moral decisions. Recent research shows that a remarkably consistent set of neural networks are involved in moral cognition. Here, I review what we know about the main brain areas associated with morality. After the review of the core brain areas associated with morality I propose a theoretical model of the necessary requirements of moral behavior to be judged as properly moral with the introduction of notational formalism and an experimental protocol for further research. Finally, I discuss the applications of all of this in Law.
References
Bicchieri C. Norms in the Wild: How to Diagnose, Measure, and Change Social Norms. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.
Blair, R. J. A cognitive developmental approach to morality: investigating the psychopath. Cognition, 57, 1995. 1-29.
Browning W. The moral center in the brain: Its location and significance. Medical Record 99, 1921. 1043-1048.
Cáceres Nieto, E. Dispraxis Jurídica, modelos mentales y constructivismo jurídico complejo. IIJ-UNAM. México, 2013
Cialdini R., Reno R. y Kallgren CA. A focus theory of normative conduct: recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. J Pers Soc Psych 58, 1990. 1015-1026.
Crick F. The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul. London: Simon and Schuster, 1994
Christensen J. y Gomila A. Moral dilemmas in cognitive neuroscience of moral decision-making: A principled review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 36 (4), 2012. 1249-1264.
Darwin C. El Origen del Hombre. Barcelona. Crítica, 1880/2009
Damasio A., Tranel D., Damasio H. Individuals with sociophatic behavior caused by frontal damage fail to respond autonomically to social stimuli. Behavioural Brain Research 41, 2, 1990. 81-94.
Damasio A. Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. New York. Putnam Publishing, 1994
Decety J. y Wheatley T. Introduction: The complexity of moral cognition requires multiple and converging levels of analyses. En Jean Decety y Thalia Wheatley (eds), The Moral Brain: A multidisciplinary Perspective. Cambridge Masachussetts, MIT Press, 2015 p. vii-3
Decety J and Cowell JM. Our Brains Are Wired for Morality: Evolution, Development, and Neuroscience. Front. Young Minds 4:3. 2016 doi:10.3389/frym.2016.00003.
Fehr E. y Schmidt K. A theory of fairness, competition, and cooperation. Quarterly Journal of Economics 114, 1999. 817-868.
Gall F. J. Spurzheim G. Recherches sur le système nerveux en général et sur celui du cerveau en particulier. Paris. Schoell, 1809
Greene J., Sommerville R., Nystrom L., Darley J. y Cohen J. An fMRI investigation of emotional engagement in moral judgment Science, 293 (5537), 2001. 2105-2108.
Haidt J. The emotional dog and its rational tail: a social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. Psychol Rev. 108(4), 2001. 814-34.
Haidt J. The moral mind: How 5 sets of innate intuitions guide the development of many culture-specific virtues and perhaps even modules. En P. Carruthers, S. Laurence y S. Stich. (eds) The Innate Mind. New York. Oxford University Press. 2007, p. 367-391.
Haidt J. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics And Religion. London. Penguin, 2013
Hare R. Moral Thinking: Its Methods, Levels, and Point. Oxford. Clarendon Press, 1981.
Hare, R. D. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist - Revised. Toronto, Ontario. Multi-Health Systems, 1991.
Harlow J. Recovery from the passage of an iron bar through the head. Masachussetts Medical Society Publications 2, 1868. 327-346.
Jinkwon J. y Soyoung Y. Three Research Strategies of Neuroscience and the Future of Legal Imaging Evidence, 12 Fron. Neurosci. 1. 2018
Jones O. y Wagner A. Law and neuroscience: Progress, promise, and pitfalls. En Michael Gazzaniga, George Manugun y David Poeppel (eds) The Cognitive Neurosciences, 6th Edition. Cam. Mass. MIT Press, 2019, forthcoming.
Kahneman D. Thinking Fast and Slow. London: Penguin, 2011.
Lerner J. y Tetlock P. Accounting for the effects of accountability. Psychological Bulletin. 125, 1999. 255-175.
Lewis D. Convention: A Philosophical Study. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press, 1969.
Liao M. Morality and neuroscience: Past and future. En Matthew Liao (ed), Moral Brains: The Neuroscience of Morality. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 2016, p. 1-45.
Mellers B. Equity judgment: A revision of Aristotelian views. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 111(2), 1982. 242-270.
Moll, J, de Oliveira-Souza R., Eslinger P., Bramati I., Mourão-Miranda J.. Andreiuolo P., et al. The neural correlates of moral sensitivity: A functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation of basic and moral emotions The Journal of Neuroscience, 22, 7, 2002. 2730-2736.
Moll J., Zahn R., de Oliveira-Souza R., Krueger F., Grafman J. Opinion: the neural basis of human moral cognition. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 6, 2005. 799-809.
Peyton Young H. Social norms. En Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume (eds), The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. London. Macmillan. 2008, p. 647-651.
Poldrack R. The New Mind Readers: What Neuroimaging Can and Cannot Reveal About Our Thoughts. Princeton. Princeton University Press, 2018
Rawls J. Two concepts of rules. The Philosophical Review. 64, 1955. 3-32.
Ruhl J. Law´s complexity: A primer. Georgia State University Law Review. 24, 4, 2012. Article 9.
Ruhl J., Katz D. y Bommarito M. Harnessing legal complexity. Science, 355, 2017. 1377-1378.
Rush B. Medical Inquiries and Observations Upon the Diseases of the Mind. Philadelphia. Kimber and Richardson, 1830.
Sinnott-Armstrong W. The disunity of morality and why it matters to philosophy. The Monist, 95, 2012. 355-377.
Tancredi R. Hardwired behavior: What neuroscience reveals about morality. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2005
Turiel E. The Culture of Morality: Social Development, Context, and Conflict. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2002
Verplaetse J. Localizing the Moral Sense Neuroscience and the Search for the Cerebral Seat of Morality, 1800-1930. Dordrecht. Springer, 2009
Wilson E.O. Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Cambridge Masachussetts, Harvard University Press, 1975
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
The submission of articles for publication in the Law, State, and Society Journal(Revista Direito, Estado e Sociedade) implies the agreement of the authors with the following terms:
1. The author(s) authorize the publication of the text in an issue of the journal;
2. The author(s) assure that the submitted text is original and unpublished and that it is not under evaluation process in other journals;
3. The author(s) assume full responsibility for the opinions, ideas, and concepts sustained in the texts;
4. The author(s) grant the editors the right to make textual adjustments and adjustments to the journal's publication standards;
5. Total or partial reproduction of the articles is allowed, as long as the source is explicitly cited.