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Law, Evolution, and the Brain: Applications and Open Questions

Owen D. Jones
Vanderbilt University - School of Law & Department of Biological Sciences



Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, Vol. 359, pp. 1697-1707, November 2004

Abstract:     
This essay discusses several issues at the intersection of law and brain science. If focuses principally on ways in which an improved understanding of how evolutionary processes affect brain function and human behavior may improve law's ability to regulate behavior. It explores sample uses of such "evolutionary analysis in law" and also raises questions about how that analysis might be improved in the future. Among the discussed uses are: 1) clarifying cost-benefit analyses; 2) providing theoretical foundation and potential predictive power; 3) assessing comparative effectiveness of legal strategies; and 4) revealing deep patterns in legal architecture. Throughout, the essay emphasizes the extent to which effective law requires: 1) building effective behavioral models; 2) integrating life science perspectives with social science perspectives; 3) considering the effects of brain biology on behaviors that law seeks to regulate; and 4) examining the effects of evolutionary processes on brain design.

Keywords: Law, evolution, brain, evolutionary analysis in law, behavior, biology, behavioral biology

JEL Classifications: K00, K19, K42

Accepted Paper Series

Date posted: March 31, 2005 ; Last revised: April 24, 2007

Suggested Citation

Jones, Owen D., Law, Evolution, and the Brain: Applications and Open Questions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, Vol. 359, pp. 1697-1707, November 2004. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=692742


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Contact Information

Owen D. Jones (Contact Author)
Vanderbilt University - School of Law & Department of Biological Sciences ( email )
131 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203-1181
United States
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