“The Biology of Evil” by Douglas Quan is an extremely interesting article that debates whether there is reason to believe that some criminals may not be intrinsically evil. There is a growing body of research that shows that psychopaths’ aberrant behavior may be linked to faulty wiring in their brain. A study led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin tackled this debacle. The researchers scanned the brains of inmates from a local prison, focusing on two key areas: the amygdala, which helps to detect fear and mediate anxiety, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for more complex social emotions such as guilt, empathy and regret. One set of data showed that the white fibres connecting these two areas of the brain were weaker in the brains of psychopaths compared to other offenders. Also, another set of data showed that electro-chemcial signals emitted by these two areas were less coordinated in the brains of psychopaths. Mike Koenigs, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University, adds, “What the science suggests is this is a brain-based disorder and that the neural dysfunction may undermine the ability of these individuals to control their social behavior and regulate their emotions.”
This article has much significance to life and our society because these scientific discoveries may lead the justice system to deal with psychopaths differently in their sentences. These discoveries may have an impact on the way psychopaths are viewed by the public, leading us to think that psychopaths are innocent people who suffer from a mental illness. As Koenigs said, “We’re not talking about turning them into Mother Teresa, but with cognitive behavioral therapy and drug therapy, it is possible they could become a little more responsible.” On the other hand, the scientific findings at the University of Wisconsin may have a strong negative impact on society, for now psychopaths may be viewed as helpless victims of a terrible mental illness and not properly treated for their violent actions.
Mr. Quan’s article “The Biology of Evil” is well constructed and well written. Quan used quotes from the likes of Mike Koenigs at appropriate times in the article, and the quotes were appropriate in length. Quan’s article was also well constructed in that he uses examples of cases, such as the case of Brina Dugan, to exemplify how these scientific findings can be used by defense lawyers for their clients.
I believe that while these findings are apparent, psychopaths should not be treated differently for their actions, and it is unjust for defense lawyers to use this data to try to persuade judges that their clients are incapable of making the right decisions. The punishment fits the crime, and these horrific, violent people can not complain and try to argue that they do not know how to make the right decision.
After somebody is murdered or badly hurt it is rare that a judge, jury, or group of people stop to sympathize with a psychopath. A psychopath is a person that is abnormally detached from certain emotions and therefore does not register why murder or violent crimes are wrong. In a Montreal Gazette article, Douglas Quan discusses why psychopaths are mentally ill and why there are movements to protect their rights when tried for a crime. Gibbs wrote a report on this article, in which he discusses several main topics. One topic that Gibbs mentioned relates to the different places in a psychopath’s brain that are different than that of an average human. In a psychopath’s brain, the amygdala, which registers fear, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which registers empathy, are not connected and are therefore not apart of a psychopath’s emotional range. Another point that Gibbs mentioned relates to the kind of emotions that a psychopath has. For instance, a psychopath is a normal human being that does not understand what empathy, guilt, or regret are and therefore are more likely to commit crimes. A third point that Gibbs mentioned relates to what certain scientists are trying to achieve for the psychopaths, which is cognitive brain therapy. Some feel as though psychopaths are not protected in the judicial system, and therefore cognitive brain therapy would be a helpful program that the criminals can be apart of in order to help with their disease.
ReplyDeleteAlthough he covered many points, Gibbs did not mention the percent of criminals that are psychopaths or the way that courts view psychos. Psychopaths make up almost 25% of the criminals in prison, and this point is important because if cognitive brain therapy should take place, maybe the number of crimes could reduce substantially. Also, courts view psychopaths as a aggravating factor, while they really are a mitigating factor, meaning that they do not register the harm in their crimes as opposed to acting out from a passionate place. The most interesting part of this article was the division between the different parts of the brain because it is scary to think that such a small infirmity can lead to murders all around the world.
Gibbs Lilly’s review of the article “The Biology of Evil: Is Bad Brain Wiring Behind Psychopaths?” was both detailed and informative. One thing that I particularly enjoyed was Mr. Lilly’s detailed and through description of the experimentation process behind this breakthrough discovery. He presented the steps in a logical sequence that made it easy to follow and understand as a reader and a biology student. Furthermore, I appreciated Mr. Lilly’s inclusion of several quotes from a key figure in this discovery, Mike Koenigs who is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin. This gave the review further insight and provided it with a sense of validity. Finally, I enjoyed Mr. Lilly’s intriguing analysis of the consequences of this finding. He noted the social, biological, and legal implications, all which really enhanced the review.
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary, I felt that the review could be improved by including certain additional information. One thing that I noticed Mr. Lilly left out was what constitutes a psychopath and which kind of criminals were used in this study. Additionally, I feel that mentioning some of the legal cases included in the article could provide insight into how perceptions of the minds of criminals have been changing in the court system over time.
Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Gibbs Lilly’s review and was fascinated to learn about how malicious behavior may be linked to faulty wiring in the brains of criminals. I previously had never considered such a possibility, so this article really expanded my horizons and got me thinking about the topic that it presented.
I read Gibbs Lilly’s review of the article “The Biology of Evil: Is Bad Brain Wiring Behind Psychopaths?” I thought that the way he presented is article was well put together and very informative. I enjoyed Gibbs’ comprehensive description of the s behind this breakthrough discovery. He presented the steps in a logical sequence that made it easy to follow and understand as a reader and a biology student. Additionally, I liked Gibbs’ inclusion of several quotes from a key figure in this discovery, Mike Koenigs who is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin. This gave the review further insight and provided it with a sense of validity. Lastly, I enjoyed Gibbs’ analysis of the consequences of this finding. He noted the social, biological, and legal implications, all which really enhanced the review.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I felt that the review could be improved by including certain additional information. One thing that I noticed Gibbs left out was what constitutes a psychopath and which kinds of criminals were used in this study. Moreover, I feel that mentioning some of the legal cases included in the article could provide insight into how perceptions of the minds of criminals have been changing in the court system over time.
I really did like Gibbs’review and was fascinated to learn about how malicious behavior may be linked to faulty wiring in the brains of criminals. I previously had never considered such a possibility, so this article really expanded my horizons and got me thinking about the topic that it presented.
AP Biology John Harrison
ReplyDeleteArticle Review 12/9/11
Gibbs’s review on “The Biology of Evil” by Douglas Quan proved to be very coherent and comprehensive. One point he presented very well was that researchers at the University of Wisconsin examined two portions of the brain to help determine if psychopaths are intrinsically evil. Gibbs states that the researchers examined the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and that the white fibers that connect these two parts were weaker in psychopaths than in other criminals. Another point Gibbs presents very well is s statement which one of the professors of the university gave. The statements says that there is a very good possibility that psychopaths may not have as much control over certain behaviors as normal people do. I also believe Gibbs presented his own beliefs very well. That, despite the new findings, psychopaths should still be held responsible for their actions.
While Gibbs’s review was very interesting to read, there was room for improvement. First, some of his sentences could have been better either through the use of words that better express what he is trying to say or through the form of the sentence. For instance, in Gibbs’s first paragraph he ends one of his sentences with the word “debacle.” A better word to use would have been “conjecture” or a synonym that is very close in meaning. While it was mentioned, I also wish Gibbs would have gone into more detail about how these links are playing a role in our judicial system.
One fact that amazed me in the article was the lack of consistency in determining who qualifies as a psychopath in criminal court. The article makes it appear as if the decision is based mostly on the speculation of the judge and jury. This is scary because it means that speculation can be the difference between a mentally disabled person facing a harsh punishment and a perfectly normal person getting off easier than he/she should.
posted for Aidan Moran
ReplyDeleteIn Gibbs Lily’s review of “The Biology of Evil: Is Bad Brain Wiring Behind Psychopaths?” Gibbs was able to summarize the article in a clear and concise manner. Gibbs leads the readers through the process that is being described step by step with enough detail to get an idea of what is going on in the experiments, but no so much that the reader is overwhelmed. Gibbs is also able to relate this article to everyday life and takes an interesting opinion on the matter that psychopaths are diseased and the crimes they commit are not necessarily their fault. He believes that although this may be true, they did still commit heinous crimes are should receive full punishments. The inclusion of quotes in the review was also an interesting way of piecing together the main points of the article in the words of the writer.
Although the review was very well put together, it was missing some things that could have improved it. Despite mentioning the conditions in the brain that make a psychopath, Gibbs never said how someone is said to be a psychopath in the first place. He also could have added the crimes that psychopaths mainly commit, and how the chemical therapy would affect the rates of those crimes nationally.
Despite what it may be lacking, Gibbs’ review was still a very informational piece. I was not aware that psychopaths were considered to have a disease, so it is interesting that it can possibly be cured. With all of the advances in medicine today, maybe soon there will be a drug that can help prevent the loss of innocent lives.
for S. White
ReplyDeleteGibbs’s review of the article “The Biology of Evil” addresses a very interesting topic: whether or not psychopaths simply choose to act immorally or are actually incapable of doing so due to their brain chemistry. One well-presented fact was that two areas of psychopaths’ brains, the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which are responsible for regulation of fear, anxiety, guilt, empathy, regret, and other social emotions, are weaker and less connected to the rest of the brain than in regular people. This is interesting because psychopaths are often thought to be devoid of emotion, which is why they have little problem killing people, when really they could be lacking some emotions because their brain simply cannot produce them. Another well-presented aspect of Gibbs’s review was that he addressed how psychopaths may now have to be treated as innocent people suffering from an illness which makes them evil, rather than inherently evil people. If this is true, then the legal system might need a completely new set of laws and punishments regarding psychopaths and their actions. A final well-presented part of Gibbs’s review is that Gibbs acknowledges that this may mean that psychopathy can be cured. Cognitive behavioral therapy coupled with drug therapy may allow psychopaths to finally be able to lead normal lives without succumbing to their darker inclinations. Clearly, if psychopaths can be separated from their urge to kill it would be beneficial to society as a whole. Gibbs’s review could use improvement on its description of how this data is used, in his opinion unjustly, by defense attorneys. While he says that this knowledge has been used by the defense in some cases, he does not elaborate on what how exactly lawyers have abused this information to assist their clients. Another aspect of Gibbs’s review that could be improved is that he first states that this new knowledge could be used to restructure our legal system, but then says that it should not be used to do so. This conclusion seems to come from nowhere in the article, as the whole article is about how psychopathy arises due to these brain defects. It is confusing for the review to go in one direction the whole time and then at the end, apparently from nowhere, for Gibbs to state that the information should not actually be used to implement change in the legal system. The most shocking information included in Gibb’s review is that psychopaths may have a fundamental problem with their brain structure that causes their behavior. I always thought that psychopathy was a psychological problem, but this article seems to indicate that it arises from the actual chemical structure present in one’s brain. In other words, psychopaths are psychopaths not because of acquired psychological issues but because of flaws in the very makeup of their brain itself. To me at least, this clearly means that the legal system and psychologists may have to reevaluate how psychopaths are to be treated.
Mr. Lilly's witty, charming, and passionate review of “The Biology of Evil” by Douglas Quan makes for a compelling read. I was impressed by his ability to condense the information presented by the article in a way that made the author's speculations more understandable. Also, Mr. Lilly's methodical detailing of the author's experimentation to determine whether there was a correlation between brain function and crime was exceedingly informative and intriguing. He noted great detail, such as the fact that "data showed that electro-chemcial signals emitted by these two areas were less coordinated in the brains of psychopaths." Last, Mr. Lilly's incorporation of quotes from key authorities on the topic, such as Mike Koenigs, served to bolster the validity of his review.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly hard to find fault with Mr. Lilly's eloquent writing, however
there are a few aspects of his otherwise beautifully crafted review that could have been slightly improved. First, Mr. Lilly could have discussed at greater length the ramifications, if more extensively proven, that Mr. Quan's findings would have on the judiciary system. Second, if Mr. Lilly had stipulated the scientific criterion for a psychopath it would have provided a better baseline by which to consider these criminals.
Overall Mr. Lilly, Bravo! This was an exceptionally intriguing article you summarized, and I was compelled by the implications that this research may hold. It is simply amazing to think that criminal behavior may actually stem from something more intrinsic: the faulty wiring of the human brain. It will be very interesting to see how court decisions may be impacted by these findings in the future.