Abstract
How does the modern criminal law understand mens rea? Conventionally, we moderns have for some time imagined mens rea as individual mind, as “psychical fact,” as subjectivity and personality. Very few, at least until recently, have doubted that we have made progress with this view of mens rea. One of the central tenets of late twentieth century criminal law scholarship is that the thin, descriptive ideas of culpability of the Model Penal Code are the essence of goodness and wisdom and clarity. Eschewed as hopelessly archaic and cruel are the mens rea terms of the common law, ideas dismissed precisely because they are full of emotion, attachments, and even passion, defiance, and contempt. The modern criminal law scholar regularly celebrates, instead, an idea of mens rea aspiring to fact and prediction, one in which states of mind
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
