Localizing the Moral Sense

Neuroscience and the Search for the Cerebral Seat of Morality, 1800-1930

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, History, Health & Well Being, Psychology
Cover of the book Localizing the Moral Sense by Jan Verplaetse, Springer Netherlands
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jan Verplaetse ISBN: 9781402063220
Publisher: Springer Netherlands Publication: August 28, 2009
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author: Jan Verplaetse
ISBN: 9781402063220
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Publication: August 28, 2009
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

Due to the current revolution in brain research the search for the “moral brain” became a serious endeavour. Nowadays, neural circuits that are indispensable for moral and social behaviour are discovered and the brains of psychopaths and criminals - the classical anti-heroes of morality - are scanned with curiosity, even enthusiasm.

How revolutionary this current research might be, the quest for a localisable ethical centre or moral organ is far from new. The moral brain was a recurrent theme in the works of neuroscientists during the 19th and 20th century. From the phrenology era to the encephalitis pandemic in the 1920s a wide range of European and American scientists (neurologists, psychiatrists, anthropologists and criminologists) speculated about and discussed the location of a moral sense in the human cortex. Encouraged by medical discoveries and concerned by terrifying phenomena like crime or “moral insanity” (psychopathy) even renowned and outstanding neurologists, including Moritz Benedikt, Paul Flechsig, Arthur Van Gehuchten, Oskar Vogt or Constantin von Monakow, had the nerve to make their speculations public. This book presents the first overview of believers and disbelievers in a cerebral seat of human morality, their positions and arguments and offers an explanation for these historical attempts to localise our moral sense, in spite of the massive disapproving commentary launched by colleagues.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Due to the current revolution in brain research the search for the “moral brain” became a serious endeavour. Nowadays, neural circuits that are indispensable for moral and social behaviour are discovered and the brains of psychopaths and criminals - the classical anti-heroes of morality - are scanned with curiosity, even enthusiasm.

How revolutionary this current research might be, the quest for a localisable ethical centre or moral organ is far from new. The moral brain was a recurrent theme in the works of neuroscientists during the 19th and 20th century. From the phrenology era to the encephalitis pandemic in the 1920s a wide range of European and American scientists (neurologists, psychiatrists, anthropologists and criminologists) speculated about and discussed the location of a moral sense in the human cortex. Encouraged by medical discoveries and concerned by terrifying phenomena like crime or “moral insanity” (psychopathy) even renowned and outstanding neurologists, including Moritz Benedikt, Paul Flechsig, Arthur Van Gehuchten, Oskar Vogt or Constantin von Monakow, had the nerve to make their speculations public. This book presents the first overview of believers and disbelievers in a cerebral seat of human morality, their positions and arguments and offers an explanation for these historical attempts to localise our moral sense, in spite of the massive disapproving commentary launched by colleagues.

More books from Springer Netherlands

Cover of the book Economics of Climate Change: The Contribution of Forestry Projects by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Motherhood and Postnatal Depression by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Modeling School Leadership across Europe by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book The Formation of Husserl’s Concept of Constitution by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Continuity and Discontinuity in the Peopling of Europe by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book The Logic of the Living Present by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Linear CMOS RF Power Amplifiers for Wireless Applications by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Regenerative Medicine by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Technology, Pessimism, and Postmodernism by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Atlas of Two-Dimensional Echocardiography in Congenital Cardiac Defects by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Climate and Weather of the Sun-Earth System (CAWSES) by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Is Death Ever Preferable to Life? by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Migration, Diaspora and Identity by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book The Indirect Estimation of Migration by Jan Verplaetse
Cover of the book Health and Welfare of Captive Reptiles by Jan Verplaetse
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy