Deficits in Theory of Mind,empathic understanding and moral reasoning: a comparison between young offenders and non-offenders

Previous research suggests a lack of pro-social skills is characteristic of an antisocial or offending personality. It is therefore reasonable to assume that an inadequate understanding of another's mental state may contribute to antisocial or offending behaviour. Forty-six young-adult male offenders and a control completed measures to assess: Theory of Mind (ToM), empathic understanding (EU) and moral reasoning. Significant differences in the performance of young-adult offenders and the control group were detected in ToM, EU and moral reasoning with young-adult offenders scoring lower than the control group. A positive association was also found between ToM, EU and moral reasoning. These findings contribute to a further understanding of how individuals make sense of, and respond to, the social world around them. The ability to measure ToM, EU and moral reasoning and subsequently identify any specific deficits, as well as recognise the link between these three key skills, is not only useful for researchers but it will also allow practitioners to tailor existing (or develop new) interventions specific to the needs of an individual. This could be particularly useful in terms of recidivism when applied to those involved in antisocial or offending behaviour.     

证据法的批判与建构——边沁的证据法思想及其启示

边沁不但是一个伟大的哲学家,而且在证据法学上著述颇丰,他激烈批评当时的英国证据制度,主张废除证据排除规则,提倡广泛而公开的交叉询问,并提出了证据法成文化的构想。作为证据法学的奠基人之一,这些思想对于英美证据法产生了一定的影响,但也存在着一些误区。这对于冷静思考我国的证据立法问题不无启迪。     

法定权利的伦理学分析

权利的正当性首先和主要是一种合乎道德的正当性 ,能够从伦理上加以分析。在现代社会中 ,法定权利是主要的权利存在形式 ,通过对法定权利存在的原因、法定权利的内容、法定权利的作用等进行一种伦理分析 ,可以发现法定权利 ,进而可以说权利存在道德价值和伦理基础并且可以从伦理学的角度加以论证。     

论作为人权与公民权的自由权

自中世纪以来 ,自由就是人类所追求的一种价值目标和生存状态。本文从人权和公民权的角度来论述自由权。在具体论述时从自由的含义出发 ,阐述自由和自由人权 ,进而揭示自由的法律意义 ,即法律上的自由权。在此基础之上 ,本文最后简要论述了自由与平等、秩序等价值目标的矛盾和平衡。     

精神权益与精神损害探析

精神损害赔偿是民商法理论中最具争议的问题之一。最高人民法院关于精神损害赔偿的司法解释并没有使争议得到解决,反而使该争论变得愈演愈烈。依据最高人民法院的司法解释,笔者认为精神权益包括生理、心理上的感受和状态;精神性人格权益;财产权、身份权中内涵的精神利益等三大内容,并对精神损害即是精神痛苦的法理进行了阐释。主张精神损害赔偿在实践操作中应予扩大化。     

Raz on Rights: Human Rights,Fundamental Rights,and Balancing

After clarifying the outlines of Raz's interest theory of rights and its relationship to aspects of the principles theory of rights, I consider how his recent observations on human rights manage to fit (or fail to fit) into the interest theory. I then address two questions. First, I elaborate on Raz's definition of morally fundamental rights, arguing that he is right in claiming that there are no such rights. I then show that the interest theory accommodates the notion that rights may take qualitative precedence over conflicting considerations—a question that has become increasingly relevant in light of recent writing on rights.     

The relationship between moral reasoning, provictim attitudes, and interpersonal aggression among imprisoned young offenders

This study examined the relationship between moral reasoning, provictim attitudes, and interpersonal aggression among imprisoned young offenders. The participants were 60 imprisoned male young offenders from a young offender institution or remand centre. Using the Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist, the offenders were categorised as one of four groups: perpetrator, victim, perpetrator-victim, or not involved. Participants in the four groups were compared on measures of provictim attitudes and sociomoral reasoning. The results showed that the majority of the participants were involved in victimising behaviours, with 43.3% falling into the perpetrator-victim category. Victims had significantly more empathic attitudes toward victims than did those in the perpetrator-victim group. No significant differences were found among the four groups on the sociomoral reasoning measure, nor was there a significant correlation between sociomoral reasoning and provictim attitudes. The results are discussed in terms of previous research and their implications for practice.     

Human Rights as a Security Threat: Lawfare and the Campaign against Human Rights NGOs

In this article, I show how the term lawfare is being deployed as a speech act in order to encode the field of human rights as a national security threat. The objective, I claim, is to hinder the work of human rights organizations that produce and disseminate knowledge about social wrongs perpetrated by military personnel and government officials, particularly evidence of acts emanating from the global war on terrorism—such as torture and extrajudicial executions—that constitute war crimes and can be presented in courts that exercise universal jurisdiction. Using Israel as a case study, I investigate the local and global dimensions of the securitization processes, focusing on how different securitizing actors—academics, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, policy makers, and legislators—mobilize the media, shape public opinion, lobby legislators and policy makers, introduce new laws, and pressure donors to pave the way for a form of exceptional intervention to limit the scope of human rights work.     

儿童作为权利主体在人权理论上的证成与限度

西方学者对于儿童是否可以拥有权利的理性反思最初是在人权维度上展开的,他们依据人权的论证逻辑来论证儿童是人,因为他们是人,他们就应该享有人之为人的权利,儿童权利乃是一种不可剥夺的道德权利.无可否认,儿童作为权利主体在人权理论上的证成对于发掘儿童的内在价值、认真对待儿童权利、丰富人权理论具有十分重要的意义.但是由于这种论证过于简单和粗糙,其存在着对于人权理论中“人”的含义的重大误解,缺失对儿童这一群体特殊性的关注及其对儿童权利认识的有限性和不充分性等问题.     

关于水权的利益分析

当前,在全面倡导节约型社会的形势下,运用经济手段和行政手段促节约意识,成为政府工作的一项重要目标,笔者认为运用法律手段促节约意识是构建和谐社会的必要之举。本文从各地正在推行的阶梯水价入手,分析水权背后的利益关系,揭示水价和水权改革的利益价值位阶,考量水资源的法律保护中的核心利益,进而确定水权的法律地位。     

在权利与法益之间——对侵权行为客体的解读

侵权行为的客体是界定侵权行为法适用范围的重要方面,但目前学术界并未对此展开特别深入的探讨。本文明确了侵权行为客体为权利和法益的理由,并指出两者的诸多不同与适用时的合理限制,为两者的区别适用提供了理论依据。     

论作为人权和公民权的表达权

党的十七大报告首次提出保障公民的"表达权"的概念和承诺.表达自由是首要的基本人权和公民权,是公民实现政治参与的前提.其中言论自由是表达自由的核心,是公民参与政治、监督国家、实现当家作主的必由之路,是推进先进思想文化和人类精神境界的动力.新闻自由则是作为人民对政府和公众人物进行舆论监督的镜鉴.而没有出版自由,则其他一切自由都是泡影.论述体现在这三方面的表达自由的理念和规范.