Philosophical Foundations of Law and Neuroscience

The intersection between law and neuroscience has been a focus of intense research for the past decade, as an unprecedented amount of attention has been triggered by the increased use of neuroscientific evidence in courts. While the majority of this attention is currently devoted to criminal law, including capital cases, the wide-ranging proposals for how neuroscience may inform issues of law and public policy extend to virtually every substantive area in law.

Bringing together the latest work from leading scholars in the field, this volume examines the philosophical issues that inform this emerging and vibrant subfield of law. From discussions featuring the philosophy of the mind to neuroscience-based lie detection, each chapter addresses foundational questions that arise in the application of neuroscientific technology in the legal sphere.

Dennis Patterson, Board of Governors Professor of Law and Philosophy, Rutgers School of Law,Michael S. Pardo, Henry Upson Sims Professor of Law, The University of Alabama School of Law

Dennis Patterson is Board of Governors Professor of Law and Philosophy at Rutgers School of Law; he is also Professor of Legal Theory and Legal Philosophy at the European University Institute and Professor of International Trade and Legal Theory at Swansea University. He has authored books on legal theory, trade law, and commercial law, and has written over fifty professional articles. His book with Michael Pardo, Minds, Brains, and Law (OUP 2013), is an accessible and comprehensive guide to the field of 'neurolaw'.


Michael S. Pardo is the Henry Upson Sims Professor of Law at the University of Alabama. He is the author of several publications is the areas of evidence, legal proof, civil and criminal procedure, and legal philosophy.