Introduction to the Edward Elgar Research Handbook on Law and Emotion

Abstract

This is the Introduction to the forthcoming volume THE EDWARD ELGAR RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON LAW AND EMOTION, edited by Susan A. Bandes, Jody Lynee Madeira, Kathryn D. Temple, and Emily Kidd White. The goals of this volume are threefold: to introduce the general reader to the burgeoning field of Law and Emotion; to bring together voices from a wide array of disciplines and methodologies on a broad range of topics; and to move the conversation forward while identifying important areas for further study. The Handbook contains thirty-six chapters by an international group of authors who draw on neuroscience, philosophy, literary theory, psychology, history, sociology, and other fields to examine the role of a wide range of emotions in a variety of legal contexts. The authors analyze what role emotions like disgust, anger, moral outrage, shame, remorse, loyalty, compassion, empathy and love play in the shaping of legal doctrines and the dynamics of legal institutions. They also consider less frequently discussed emotional states like “attachment” and “closure.” They move beyond traditionally “emotional” venues like the criminal law and the jury trial to encompass topics like contracts, property, bankruptcy, and international law, legal actors like judges and defense attorneys, and venues like the negotiation session and truth and reconciliation commissions. In addition to these chapters, all original to the volume, the HANDBOOK also includes three of the classic articles that helped introduce and define the field of Law and Emotion.

Keywords: Emotion, Decision-Making, Law and Psychology, Law and Philosophy, History of Emotion, Law and Neuroscience, Affective Sciences