The chapters in this volume investigate whether, and if so how, advances in
the mind sciences—chiefl y in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral
genetics—might aff ect the moral foundations of legal responsibility practices.
Th ese chapters have been arranged under fi ve headings—responsibility and
mental capacity; reappraising agency; assessment; disease and disorder; and
modifi cation—and in what follows, I survey how the individual chapters engage
with issues that fall under these headings. But fi rst is a brief historical interlude
to help me explain why there is even reason to suppose that advances in the mind
sciences might aff ect the moral foundations of legal responsibility practices.