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The Criminal Mind by Dr. Adrian Raine

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The article, “The Criminal Mind,” written by Dr. Adrian Raine, is about the developing field of neurocriminology (which is, interestingly enough, so new and developing that the word cannot yet be found in the dictionary). According to Dr. Raine, the field of neurocriminology can be described as “using neuroscience to understand and prevent crime.” Dr. Raine discusses the theory of neurocriminology by explaining the relationship between genetics and the environment, and the effect these have on an individual’s brain, thus creating violent tendencies within that individual. The second half of the article focuses on the practical implications of the evidence behind the “physical, genetic, and environmental roots of violent behavior,” as well as how the criminal justice needs to change in order for this evidence to have any effect.
The theory presented in Dr. Raine’s article is, in some ways, fairly similar to the theory presented by James Gilligan in his book, Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic. To start, both theories would seem to derive from psychology, with Dr. Raine’s theory dwelling in neuropsychology, and Gilligan’s theory residing in social psychology. Additionally, both theories take into account the idea that violent criminals cannot be simply “innocent” or “guilty”; there are other, external factors that provoke violent tendencies into violent behavior.
While there may be several similarities between Dr. Raine and Gilligan’s theories, however, I have come
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