Corrado Roversi & Michele Ubertone, Legal Concepts and Embodied Cognition

Legal Concepts

Corrado Roversi & Michele Ubertone, Legal Concepts and Embodied Cognition

In this lecture, an overview is provided about the standard conception of legal concepts and the way in which it can be modified in view of the paradigm known in contemporary cognitive psychology as “Embodied cognition”. In the final part of the lecture, an experiment made at the University of Bologna is presented to show how experimental methodologies in embodied cognition can be used to enrich our understanding of legal concepts.

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Legal Concepts and Embodied Cognition (1)

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Rawls distinguishes between justifications of a practice and within a practice; Mackor between internal and external questions. How are these distinctions connected?

Concepts are defined by rules for interaction with objects that are referents of the concept

Concepts are grounded in a re-activation of neural patterns activated when acting and perceiving

Concepts are descriptions of actions that you can perform with referents of the concept

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How can the traditional view about concepts discussed in this lecture be described?

Concepts are a set of criteria of application that are the content of a mental representation

Concepts are a set of paradigms that define rules of application

Concepts are sensory and motor experiences

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Why is Hart a good example of a traditional view about legal concepts?

Because in Hart you find an important analysis of the concept of legal validity

Because in Hart you find the idea that some crucial legal concepts depend on the practice of legal officials

Because in Hart you find the idea that you cannot understand legal concepts if you do not understand the internal point of view towards rules

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Legal Concepts and Embodied Cognition (2)

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What did the Legal Theory and Cognitive Science Lab's experiment on the internal point of view show?

It showed that, pace Hart, experts and non-experts in law process legal concepts in more or less the same way.

It showed that experts and non-experts in law process legal concepts differently: for example, experts are more likely to associate legal concepts with positive emotions and a perception of concreteness.

It showed that experts and non-experts in law process legal concepts differently: for example, experts are more likely to associate legal concepts with abstract ideas and emotionally detached, technical procedures.

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What is the relationship, according to Hart, between legal expertise and the internal point of view?

According to Hart, both legal experts and non-experts are equally likely to take the internal view of legal rules.

According to Hart, legal experts necessarily take the external view of the law, whereas ordinary citizens more often take the internal view.

According to Hart, legal experts necessarily take the internal view of the law, whereas ordinary citizens often don't.

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Why is embodied cognition helpful in understanding the internal point of view?

Because embodied cognition understands concepts as a set of necessary and sufficient criteria for identifying a reference.

Because the internal point of view consists of a practical disposition towards ways of behaving, and embodied cognition can explain the relationship between concepts and practical abilities and dispositions towards ways of interacting with our environment.

Because Hart drew on embodied cognition when he came up with the idea of the internal point of view.

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Legal Concepts

Corrado Roversi & Michele Ubertone, Legal Concepts and Embodied Cognition

Lecture Part 1

Part 2

Quiz 1

Quiz 2