This book establishes the vital relevance of contemporary psychoanalysis to law. Our legal system is predicated on the idea that people act rationally and of their own free will. Yet the facts of mental life present a much messier picture. Psychoanalysis draws our attention to the hidden, conflicted, wishful, sometimes self-destructive aspects of our inner selves that can produce inexplicable decision making and irrational behavior. With its detailed portrait of the unconscious, psychoanalysis helps us to answer some of the most puzzling questions in law, such as: Why would an individual confe ... More

This book establishes the vital relevance of contemporary psychoanalysis to law. Our legal system is predicated on the idea that people act rationally and of their own free will. Yet the facts of mental life present a much messier picture. Psychoanalysis draws our attention to the hidden, conflicted, wishful, sometimes self-destructive aspects of our inner selves that can produce inexplicable decision making and irrational behavior. With its detailed portrait of the unconscious, psychoanalysis helps us to answer some of the most puzzling questions in law, such as: Why would an individual confess to a crime she did not commit? What motivates an individual to enter into a prenuptial agreement against his own interest? Why should we prohibit incestuous sexual relations between consenting adults? Why would a victim of domestic violence delay leaving her abuser? What prevents an individual from changing when confronted with evidence of his own racial bias? Delving deep into the complex workings of the unconscious, this book draws on contemporary psychoanalytic ideas to refine and redefine legal theory, rules, and judging. The contemporary psychoanalytic perspective presented here complements much of the research on the mind taking place in the cognitive sciences. At the crossroads of psychology and the law, this book challenges basic legal assumptions about the autonomous, rational actor, offering a nuanced and humane perspective that furthers our legal system’s highest ideals of individual fairness and systemic justice.