Why do we punish, and why do we forgive? Are these learned behaviors, or is there something deeper going on? This book argues that there is indeed something deeper going on, and that our essential response to the killers, rapists, and other wrongdoers among us has been programmed into our brains by evolution. Using evidence and arguments from neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, Morris B. Hoffman traces the development of our innate drives to punish - and to forgive - throughout human...

A dimwitted FBI agent tries to save Albert Einstein and Kurt Gödel from a deranged Nazi academic, double agents, and an elite assassination team sent by Heinrich Himmler. Understanding Gödel’s famous incompleteness theorem becomes the key, but will the dull G-man be up to it?

Within these pages lie tales of loss and redemption, of courage forged in the depths of despair, and of hope that flickers even in the darkest moments. From love that transcends time to the mysteries of mortality and the afterlife, this collection weaves together powerful stories that explore the human soul's journey. Each tale is a testament to resilience, a reminder that even in the face of sorrow, there is light to be found. Step into a world where endings are only the beginning, and wh...

Brain science in the form of neuroscientific evidence now appears frequently in courtrooms and policy discussions alike. Many legal issues are at stake, such as how to separate the best uses of brain science information from those that are potentially biasing or misleading. It is crucial to evaluate brain science evidence in light of relevant legal standards (such as the Daubert and Frye Rules). Brain Science for Lawyers, Judges, and Policymakers responds to this rapidly changing ...

Bill Eaton's dying grandmother drops a bombshell when he comes to visit, though he doesn't realize until later the significance of the old files she asks him to retrieve from her attic and review.The files include an old photo of President John F. Kennedy with a man named Bill Simpson, a photo of Eaton's much younger grandmother, and several journals written by Simpson titled "The White House," "The Assassination," "Prison," and "Reuther."Eaton's grandmother dies before the...

We call it justice—the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the incarceration of corrupt politicians or financiers like Rod Blagojevich and Bernard Madoff, and the climactic slaying of cinema-screen villains by superheroes. But could we not also call it revenge? We are told that revenge is uncivilized and immoral, an impulse that individuals and societies should actively repress and replace with the order and codes of courtroom justice. What, if anything, distinguishes punishment at the hands...

Are human beings naturally endowed with a conscience? Or is morality artificially acquired through social pressure and instruction? Most people assume that modern science proves the latter. Further, most of our current social policies are based upon this “scientific” view of the sources of morality. In this book, however, James Q. Wilson seeks to reconcile traditional ideas with a range of important empirical research into the sources of human behavior over the last fifty years. Marshallin...

Basic Concepts in Criminology is an introduction to criminology. It is intended to serve as resource material for prospective students of criminology and particularly for law enforcement officers in training and in the field. Criminology as a social science discipline is structured from a combination of concepts of sociology, psychology, and lawall relevant subjects to the law enforcement profession. Remarkably, criminology is not very popular as a stand-alone subject among disciplines of ...

In this controversial and compassionate book, the distinguished psychiatrist James Gilligan proposes a radically new way of thinking about violence and how to prevent it.Violence is most often addressed in moral and legal terms: "How evil is this action, and how much punishment does it deserve?" Unfortunately, this way of thinking, the basis for our legal and political institutions, does nothing to shed light on the causes of violence. Violent criminals have been G...

Criminal justice is unavoidably human. Detectives, witnesses, suspects, and victims shape investigations; prosecutors, defense attorneys, jurors, and judges affect the outcome of adjudication. Simon shows how flawed investigations produce erroneous evidence and why well-meaning juries send innocent people to prison and set the guilty free.

As a punishment for our most serious crime—the intentional killing of a victim in an egregious way—the death penalty naturally attracts opposing moral views. One view says that the state should never execute a criminal no matter what the crime may be. The other view requires execution as justice is sought for the victim. This book considers a third possible view: capital punishment should be judged by its pragmatic value to society. Does the prospect of possible execution save lives by det...

Tackling the ugly secret of unconscious racism in American society, this book provides specific solutions to counter this entrenched phenomenon.