Contributions from Neuroscience and Biology to the Philosophy of Law

Abstract

This article discusses the possibility of dealing, from a scientific point of view, with ethical standards from which one can critically evaluate positive law. For a long time it was considered that such standards would be subjective, emotional, and that they would vary according to time and place. That is why it was considered impossible, especially from a positivist point of view, to examine them using a scientific approach, due to a lack of the necessary objectivity. The findings of contemporary biology and neuroscience, however, may cast new light on this debate. Although they would not resolve the debate, these findings significantly challenge the idea that moral sentiments cannot be able to be scientifically studied.