Responsibility and psychopathy
Subtitle: interfacing law, psychiatry, and philosophy
By: edited by Luca Malatesti, John McMillan
Series: International perspectives in philosophy and psychiatry; International perspectives in philosophy and psychiatry
Publisher: Oxford University Press; Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 329
ISBN-13: 9780199551637
Subjects: Antisocial personality disorders; Psychopaths; Legal status, laws
Description: "Psychopaths have emotional impairments that can be expressed in persistent criminal behavior. UK and US law has traditionally excused disordered individuals for their crimes citing these emotional impairments as a cause for their criminal behaviour. The discussion of whether psychopaths are morally responsible for their behaviour has long taken place in the realm of philosophy. However, in recent years, this has moved into scientific and psychiatric investigation, fundamentally so with the development of Robert Hare's diagnostic tool, the Psychopathy Checklist.  Responsibility and Psychopathy  explores the moral responsibility of psychopaths. It engages with problems at the interface of law, psychiatry, and philosophy, and is divided into three parts providing relevant interdisciplinary background information to address this main problem.   The first part discusses the public policy and legal responses to psychopathy. It offers an introduction to the central practical issue of how public policy should respond to psychopathy, giving insights for those arguing about the responsibility of psychopaths.  The second part introduces recent scientific advancements in the classification, description, and explanation of psychopathy. In particular, Robert Hare illustrates and defends his Psychopathy Checklist (PCL). Surveys of the most recent brain imaging studies on psychopaths and the prospects for treatment are also included.   The third part of the volume includes chapters covering the most significant dimensions of philosophical debate on the moral and criminal responsibility of psychopaths. In relation to this issue, philosophers have considered whether psychopathic offenders possess moral understanding and/or are capable of controlling their criminal behaviour. This part illustrates how answering these questions involves investigating highly debated and central philosophical problems. These difficulties concern the nature of moral understanding, the significance of emotive and cognitive faculties in moral understanding and motivation, and the most appropriate account of moral and criminal responsibility that can justify a response to the psychopathic offenders.  Exploring one of the most contentious topics of our time, this book is fascinating reading for psychiatrists, philosophers, criminologists, and lawyers"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: interfacing law, philosophy and psychiatry / John McMillan and Luca Malatesti; title: Psychopathy and criminal responsibility in historical perspective / Tony Ward; title: Stabbing in the dark: English law relating to psychopathy / Peter Bartlett; title: Psychopathy and the law: the United States experience / Stephen J. Morse; title: Policies, law and psychopathy: a critical stance from political philosophy / Matt Matravers; title: Defending PCL-R / Luca Malatesti and John McMillan; title: Psychopathy: assessment and forensic implications / Robert D. Hare and Craig S. Neumann; title: Neuroimaging, genetics, and psychopathy: implications for the legal system / Carla L. Harenski, Robert D. Hare, and Kent A. Kiehl; title: The treatment of psychopathy: clinical nihilism or steps in the right direction? / James R. P. Ogloff and Melisa Wood; title: Responsibility and psychopathy / John McMillan and Luca Malatesti; title: Psychopathy and answerability / Antony Duff; title: Psychopathy, responsibility and the moral/conventional distinction / Neil Levy; title: Rationalism, emotivism, and the psychopath / Heidi L. Maibom; title: Reasons, emotion, and moral judgment in the psychopath / Jeanette Kennett; title: The inauthentic evaluative schemes of psychopaths and culpability / Ishtiyaque Haji; title: Intentional action, moral responsibility and psychopaths / Grant Gillett; title: Will a stroke of neuroscience ever eradicate evil? / Ronald B. de Sousa and Douglas Heinrichs; title: Conclusions: psychopathy and responsibility, a rejoinder / Luca Malatesti and John McMillan.