Symposium attracts economists, scientists and lawyers
Economists, scientists and lawyers gathered at USC Law Sept. 3 for a symposium on “Cognitive-Neuroscience and the Law,” sponsored by the USC-Caltech Center for the Study of Law and Politics. The Center is co-directed by Mathew McCubbins, visiting professor of law at USC and chancellor’s associates chair in the department of political science at University of California, San Diego, and USC Law Professor and USC Vice President for Academic Planning and Budget Elizabeth Garrett.
“Law is about reason, so it’s important to understand how people reason, how they make decisions and why they make the decisions they make,” said McCubbins, who opened the symposium.
“The cognitive and neurosciences have new insights into political decision-making and legal reasoning. This ranges from testing impulsivity and identifying pain, to testing people’s ability to reason about the consequences of their actions.”
Presenters included USC Economics Professors Isabelle Brocas, with “From Perception to Action: An Economic Model of Brain Processes,” and Juan Carrillo, “Using Mouse-tracking to Understand Cognition in Games of Asymmetric Information.” Mark Turner, professor of cognitive science at Case-Western Reserve University, presented “Social Ontology, Conceptual Structure, and the Law;” USC Political Science Professor Nick Weller discussed “Opting In or Opting Out: Conditions for Creating Network Consensus.” Paul Zak, professor of economics and director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont University, presented “The Moral Molecule.”
The USC-Caltech Center for the Study of Law and Politics is hosting its next symposium on December 4, “Advanced Methods for the Study of Law.”
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