“If The Moral Conflict of Law and Neuroscience had been written by a neuroscientist, it would ‘merely’ be excellent—clear, elegant, and thoughtful. The fact that it was written by a legal scholar makes it extraordinary and very brave. To my knowledge, no such scholar has ever presented so clearly and convincingly a fatal incompatibilism—neuroscience is disassembling the folk psychological notion of human agency on which criminal justice rests. And in the end, Alces convicts the justice system, asserting that the notion of moral responsibility which justifies retribution is itself ultimately immoral."

Robert Sapolsky, recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant, author of Behave

“Alces argues that the law has for a long time simply got it wrong when it comes to understanding who we are and how we act. This misunderstanding, he asserts, stems from the failure to embrace hard determinism: the notion that we are a product of forces which are often beyond our control. Alces builds on the premise that moral responsibility is an illusion and argues that we need to be better served by a legal system that takes into account the burgeoning body of neuroscientific knowledge that questions whether we are truly responsible agents. Thought-provoking, challenging, and at times startling, The Moral Conflict of Law and Neuroscience raises the intriguing question of whether the law is failing us because it misunderstands the nature of human agency.”

Adrian Raine, author of The Anatomy of Violence

 
“Questions concerning conflict between our legal system and rapidly emerging neuropsychological research are not new, but The Moral Conflict of Law and Neuroscience plumbs new depths. This serious and engaging study raises fundamental questions across the entire legal spectrum, from torts to contracts. Rather than warning of potential future problems, Alces combines meticulous legal analysis with impressive knowledge of psychological research to pose immediate challenges to some of our most basic assumptions.”

Bruce Waller, author of Against Moral Responsibility

“A work of remarkable originality—provocative, challenging, and sweeping in scope. The book not only forges further into the criminal justice domain, with considerable originality and subtlety, it also extends into torts and contracts—areas almost entirely unexplored. Alces has a considerable command of these fields of law and likewise of the key neuroscientific accomplishments that bear on his analyses. In addition, he thinks clearly, logically, and with great penetrating insights. The book is bound to be a major landmark in the law and neuroscience landscape.”

Owen D. Jones, Vanderbilt University