The Punisher's Brain

The Evolution of Judge and Jury

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Pub Date May 13 2014 | Archive Date May 01 2014

Description

An eye-opening look at the evolution of criminal justice

An unexpected combination of criminal justice and neuroscience, The Punisher’s Brain explores how humans have been hard-wired to penalize wrongdoers and how our modern institutions of punishment are rooted in our own social evolution.

As a social species, we have evolved to cooperate—albeit grudgingly—with each other. We do not steal the property or damage the well-being of others, and we keep our promises—or face the consequences. The institution of punishment made stealing and breaching sufficiently expensive to permit enough cooperation for our society to survive and flourish. But the high cost of punishment—with its threat of violent retaliation and tendency to upset the established social order—gives us a deep reticence toward punishment, and an urge to forgive when the wrongdoer caused minimal harm or gave reliable signals he or she could be trusted to return to the fold.

Morris B. Hoffman, a sitting judge for the Second Judicial District of Colorado, examines the evolutionary story of our modern conceptions of punishment and suggests ways we can improve the criminal justice system.

Publisher's Note: This is not the finished version. Please check with the publisher or refer to the finished book whenever you are excerpting or quoting in a review.

An eye-opening look at the evolution of criminal justice

An unexpected combination of criminal justice and neuroscience, The Punisher’s Brain explores how humans have been hard-wired to penalize...


Advance Praise

“A thought-provoking and engaging look at one of the oldest questions in morality and law – what is the point of punishment? With advances in the biological study of human nature, increased awareness of long-term historical progress in our attitudes to retribution, and new concern about current incarceration practices, this is an especially timely and important book.”

—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of The Blank Slate and The Better Angels of Our Nature.

“A thought-provoking and engaging look at one of the oldest questions in morality and law – what is the point of punishment? With advances in the biological study of human nature, increased...


Marketing Plan

Galleys available
Advance reading copies available
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Galleys available
Advance reading copies available
National print, broadcast, digital media campaign
Social media promotion on Facebook and Twitter


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781107038066
PRICE $30.00 (USD)

Average rating from 10 members


Featured Reviews

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I'm looking forward to recommending this to my patrons. Drawing from multiple disciplines - anthropology, sociology, philosophy, science and law this eminently readable book lays out how we came to the place of judge and juries today. Interesting and thought provoking

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