What Evolutionary Neuroscience and Talmudic Tradition Teach Us about Punishment in Society

This lecture is the 14th annual Robbins Lecture in Jewish Law, Thought, and Identity. The full title is, "The Executioner's Prayer: What Evolutionary Neuroscience and Talmudic Tradition Teach Us About the Roles of Punishment in Society".

Thursday, April 20, 2023, Light Reception: 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM PT, Bancroft Hotel, Lecture: 5:35 PM – 7:05 PM PT, Bancroft Hotel

It's hard to imagine a system of justice without punishments. We might think that judicial sanctions deter potential criminals, or keep offenders off the streets, or provide the "just deserts" of illegal antisocial behavior. But perhaps there’s another reason why every legal system makes use of punishment, one deeply seated in the evolution of humankind and its institutions. Considering how judicial punishment is portrayed in Biblical and Talmudic literature, and understood by evolutionary psychology, we’ll consider new directions in finding forms of punishment that might be most effective in strengthening social cohesion today.

Daniel Levy: 2022–2023 Helen Diller Institute Visiting Professor Associate Professor, Former Dean, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University