Circumstances

The article “Bad or Mad?” by Sean Spence was published on the New Scientist magazine’s website on March 2004.

The central circumstances of the text are related to scientific development. Spence specifically mentions new findings in neuroscience: “Neuroscience is beginning to tell us that while the cognitive, planning part of the brains of severely antisocial people works normally, other neural centres do not.” (p. 138, ll. 15-17).

In these circumstances, Spence believes it is important to ask ourselves how these findings should influence the way in which society deals with violent criminals and with people who suffer from mental abnormalities (which might make them prone to violence) (p. 138, ll.18- 22). Moreover, he suggests that scientific evidence could make us reconsider the very existence of moral evil: “If we can find explanations for the evil people do, then are we n...