TED Talk: The neuroscience of restorative justice

[sagiquarius]

"Daniel Reisel searches for the psychological and physical roots of human morality. Full bio

 

He studies the brains of criminal psychopaths (and mice). And he asks a big question: Instead of warehousing these criminals, shouldn't we be using what we know about the brain to help them rehabilitate? Put another way: If the brain can grow new neural pathways after an injury … could we help the brain re-grow morality?"

 

http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_reisel_the_neuroscience_of_restorative_justice About 15 mins

 

My first thought was that this would make a fascinating FDR interview.  There is some discussion in the video comments as well.  This snippet encompasses much of it, IMO:

 

In reply to:

I've taught empathy in a maximum security prison. People don't have to "want to change". They have to see a benefit to themselves (like possibility of release) to start doing the work that creates the capacity for empathy, and then when the capacity is developed it changes their motivation because it transforms them, and they want to keep doing it.Men would come to the class thinking they would "game" us because the parole board liked to see that they'd taken the class, but when they started actually doing the exercises, they were affected by them, and when they realized real human connection was possible, they wanted that and gave up the idea of gaming. Some of them went on to become assistant teachers. It's not too late for anyone.

Emma McCreary

I think you are doing some important work, and I don't doubt that you've had several success stories. A lot of times people just need to be exposed to a better way of living. At the same time, though, I must disagree with you that "It's not too late for anyone." That's wishful thinking, plain and simple. There are some people that it is just too late for, and this is not a matter of opinion at this point with our current technology and medical capabilities. Look at someone with a traumatic injury who has had damage to their amygdala. They may have once been pillars of their community but then they become extremely aggressive and unpredictable. You can't restore them to their former selves, barring a medical miracle on the horizon, any more than you can make someone with down syndrome an MIT graduate. It's just not going to happen, and no amount of social programming is going to change people with an underdeveloped or damaged amygdala--such as psychopaths/sociopaths. There have been cases, like with Jill Bolte Taylor (also a TED speaker), who've been able to repair the damage done to their brains after a stroke, but I know of not one case in the scientific literature of a rehabilitated psychopath. Ergo, for now, such a thing should be appropriately placed in the "very highly improbable to impossible" category. 

 

[skibum]

I wonder about the victims in the case of something like this. If some sociopath inflicts serious harm or death upon you or your loved ones, do you deserve some amount of restitution or time served on the part of these people?

 

If you have a 30 year sentence, should you be released just because you've learned empathy?

 

And yes it would be a very interesting FDR discussion. A lot of parallels could be drawn between that and what Stef has discussed re: a child victim owing their parents.

[kavih]

Criminal rehabilitation definitely needs R&D. However, that only applies after childhood, which to me, means most of that R&D funding should go into rehabilitating traumatized children or even adult rehabilitation (prior to them becoming criminals).

 

I wish Stefan would get onto the TED stage! I would fully support donating extra to that cause and that kind of exposure for FDR. I think it will happen eventually, but I want it sooner than later

 

Ultimately, I'm wondering whether the typical TED audience, and therefore, TED's reputation would be thought to be in jeopardy with a talk of peaceful parenting on their stage, since capital punishment is still widely support in much of the US.

[LovePrevails]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6dMNn1gPxM

http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/08/04/perspective-on-tough-justice-inability-to-end-violence/

http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/08/04/perspective-on-tough-justice-inability-to-end-violence/