Morality, Empathy and Restorative Justice

I’ll start at the end of this 12-minute, intriguing TED Talk. Daniel Reisel, a neuroscientist who has studied the brains of socio-paths, asks us whether we should be concerned not only about changing the brains of criminals but also our own. I find the whole idea of changing our brains – and along with our brains our character and potential – simply fascinating because that idea emerges at the intersection of two deeply held beliefs. On the one hand, we often think of character as something that can be developed and so we stress moral and character development in our schools and churches and civic associations alike. On the other hand,...