The emergence of consequential thought: evidence from neuroscience

• Published in: Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences Vol. 359; no. 1451; pp. 1797 - 1804
• Main Authors: Zeki, S., Goodenough, O. R., Baird, Abigail A., Fugelsang, Jonathan A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 29.11.2004
• Subjects: Adolescence; Adolescent; Adolescents; Basal ganglia; Behavioral neuroscience; Brain - growth & development; Brain - physiology; Brain Development; Contrafactuals; Counterfactual; Criminal Responsibility and Punishment; Deductive reasoning; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Humans; Inductive reasoning; Jurisprudence; Legal; Memory; Neuropsychology; Neuropsychology - legislation & jurisprudence; Reasoning; Thinking - physiology; Working memory
• ISSN: 0962-8436; 1471-2970
• DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2004.1549

The ability to think counterfactually about the consequence of one's actions represents one of the hallmarks of the development of complex reasoning skills. The legal system places a great emphasis on this type of reasoning ability as it directly relates to the degree to which individuals may be judged liable for their actions. In the present paper, we review both behavioural and neuroscientific data exploring the role that counterfactual thinking plays in reasoning about the consequences of one's actions, especially as it pertains to the developing mind of the adolescent. On the basis of assimilation of both behavioural and neuroscientific data, we propose a brain-based model that provides a theoretical framework for understanding the emergence of counterfactual reasoning ability in the developing mind.