Books by Dr. Pragya Mishra
Routledge Taylor and Francis (London & New York), 2024
This work explores the transformative potential of neuroscience in reshaping India's criminal jus... more This work explores the transformative potential of neuroscience in reshaping India's criminal justice system. It deftly navigates the complex terrain of neurolaw, examining its implications for criminal responsibility, rehabilitation, and the very foundations of legal thought. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscientific research and India's rich philosophical traditions, the work proposes innovative approaches to longstanding legal and ethical dilemmas. It covers a wide range of topics with depth and nuance, from a neurocriminological audit of Indian criminal codes to an exploration of neuroplasticity in offender rehabilitation. It includes a fascinating case study of the Vipassana meditation program in Indian prisons, illustrating the practical applications of neurolaw principles. The volume promises to spark crucial conversations about the nature of human behavior, the purpose of punishment, and the possibility of a more humane and effective justice system. It is a bold step toward a neuroscience-informed jurisprudence that honors both scientific truth and human dignity. At the intersection of neuroscience, law, and Indian philosophy, the work offers a unique perspective on some of the most pressing questions in modern jurisprudence. Representing a significant contribution to the global discourse on neurolaw and offering concrete suggestions for legal reform, judicial practice, and policymaking, it will be an essential read for legal scholars, neuroscientists, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of criminal justice.
Neurolaw Papers by Dr. Pragya Mishra
Brain Sciences, 2025
The search for biological markers that can be reliably linked to aggression and antisocial behavi... more The search for biological markers that can be reliably linked to aggression and antisocial behavior has been central to work of biological criminology. One such marker, uric acid, has long-since been suspected to play a causative role in promoting anger, irritability, aggression, and violence. Here in this perspective article, we revisit some of the historical interest in uric acid as a compound relevant to brain and behavior, and reflect these early accounts off emergent scientific research. Advances in brain sciences, including neuropsychiatry and neuromicrobiology, have allowed for a more sophisticated understanding of potential mechanistic pathways linking uric acid with cognition and behavior. The updated science suggests that some of the early ideas surrounding uric acid and criminology had credibility. The available research strongly suggests that uric acid, as a potential biomarker of risk, is worthy of further research and close scrutiny. Informed by emergent gut-brain-microbiome research, we argue that certain aspects of early-to-mid 20 th century biological criminology were prematurely abandoned. From a neurolaw perspective, further advances surrounding uric acid, and other gut-brain biomarkers, can aid in shaping more humane, scientifically grounded, policies that recognize the interplay between biology and environment.
Challenges, 2025
In an ongoing series of interviews, Challenges Advisory Board member and Nova Institute for Healt... more In an ongoing series of interviews, Challenges Advisory Board member and Nova Institute for Health Fellow Alan C. Logan meets with thought leaders, scientists, scholars, healthcare professionals, artisans, and visionaries concerned about health at the scale of individuals, communities, and the planet. Here, Dr. Pragya Mishra responds to a set of questions posed by Challenges. Dr. Mishra, a legal academician and one of the few global scholars with a PhD specifically in neurolaw, is at the forefront of research examining the intersection of law and brain sciences. As a concept and developing field, the promise of neurolaw is that it will lead to a more equitable and less punitive justice system, one based on objective science rather than prescientific assumptions of blameworthiness and willpower. Here, Dr. Mishra reflects on the promises and pitfalls of neurolaw, the growing challenges to the free will assumptions held by the courts, and her work in a field that epitomizes a transdisciplinary effort. She discusses the place of contemplative practices within neurolaw, with special emphasis on the hope of rehabilitation. Dr. Mishra describes neurolaw through a holistic lens, one that embraces future possibilities and the shaping of evidence-based policy changes. While planetary health embraces justice as a broad term, it has paid little attention to the criminal justice system. Discussions of neurolaw are important to the ethical frameworks of planetary health. Neurolaw, as Dr. Mishra explains, is at the heart of the many interconnected challenges of our time.
Athens Journal of Law , 2024
This comprehensive paper examines the burgeoning field of neurolaw, analysing how insights from n... more This comprehensive paper examines the burgeoning field of neurolaw, analysing how insights from neuroscience are transforming legal theory and practice across jurisdictions. Through critical evaluation of seminal cases and judicial decisions, the increasing relevance of neuroscience in interpreting legal concepts like criminal culpability, rights to privacy, and self-incrimination is explored. Challenges surrounding neuroscientific evidence, including issues of reliability, ethical implications, and potential misuse are examined in depth. The paper provides an extensive contemplation of the normative, ethical, and policy quandaries arising from integrating neuroscience into legal proceedings. Building on previous scholarly work on the philosophy of legal responsibility, a balanced, forward-looking approach is meticulously advocated - one guided by rigorous research, interdisciplinary collaboration, principles of due process, and a steadfast commitment to equity and human rights. Specific domains where neurolaw can profoundly impact jurisprudence such as criminal sentencing, competency assessments, tort liability, rehabilitation efforts, and conceptions of personhood are analysed in detail. The global human rights implications of emerging neurotechnology are comprehensively considered, with a focus on the need for international governance frameworks. Finally, a comprehensive framework for responsibly integrating neuroscience into legal practice, promoting justice while safeguarding against overreach, is proposed and elucidated.
Journal of Indian Law Institute, 2018
This Article discusses the metaphysical basis of criminal responsibility and tries to
determine w... more This Article discusses the metaphysical basis of criminal responsibility and tries to
determine whether free will or determinism should inform the debate of theories
behind criminal sentencing from retribution to rehabilitation. The author also tries
to draw a distinction between the Western conception of free will which involves freedom
of action from the Eastern concept of free will which emphasises freedom from
desire while highlighting a compatibilist view based on mindfulness and rehabilitation.
Journal of Indian Law Institute, 2020
While law and emotions have traditionally been understood as mutually repugnant ideas, closer ins... more While law and emotions have traditionally been understood as mutually repugnant ideas, closer inspection reveals that emotions are not entirely absent from the positivist legal framework; and our legal system stresses upon shoring up against its influence thereby skewing response to emotions in the administration of justice. The focus of this paper is to examine where, when, how, and why that most animating psychological concept-emotion-influences culpability. The primary interest is on the emotions of the accused, with particular focus on Indian criminal law and its theories of culpability, which are embedded in statutes, in the reasons and dicta judges give for their decisions, and in the works of legal theorists. This paper asks why, for example, emotions sometimes aggravate a murder,making it so vile and heinous that it warrants the death penalty, whereas atother times emotions mitigate a murder to culpable homicide, or excuse a killing (e.g., unsoundness of mind or insanity 1) or even justify it (e.g., right of private defense 2).This paper also briefly illustrates some of the inconsistencies, contradictions, and incoherence among modern criminal law's theories of emotion, as seen through different crimes, defences, and doctrines before concluding that restructuring of the administration of justice to make it more emotionally coherent and accommodative to enable thoughtful response to emotions shall not only be more fulfilling but also serve the ends of justice and equity better.
Journal of National Law University, Delhi, 2022
In this article, my focus is to examine where, when, how, and why that most animating psychologic... more In this article, my focus is to examine where, when, how, and why that most animating psychological concept-emotion-influences law and legal academia. In particular, this article will consider how law considers reason its supreme driving force, representing rationality and enlightenment and prizes the rigid, analytical, unemotional ability to 'think like a lawyer' whilst modern neuroscientific and philosophical findings no longer consider emotions as an antithesis of reason but rather deeply intertwined with cognition. Thus, briefly illustrating some of the inconsistencies, contradictions, and incoherence among legal education's theories of emotion, as seen through law and emotions scholarship, this article argues that emotions can and should be the driver for a more holistic form of legal education, one in which emotions and well-being are integral within the curriculum itself, rather than occasional adjuncts.
Law Review: A Journal of Law, Policy and Society, 2019
While law and emotions have traditionally been understood as mutually repugnant ideas,
closer in... more While law and emotions have traditionally been understood as mutually repugnant ideas,
closer inspection reveals that emotions are not entirely absent from the positivist legal framework; and our legal system stresses upon shoring up against its influence thereby
skewing response to emotions in the administration of justice. Restructuring of the administration of justice to make it more emotionally coherent and accommodative besides incorporation of emotional intelligence studies in the curriculum of legal education as also in judicial training and sensitization to enable a thoughtful response to emotions shall not only be more fulfilling but also serve the ends of justice and equity better.
Conference Presentations by Dr. Pragya Mishra
Teacher's Training Seminar on Jurisprudence, 2018
Workshop on Critical Criminal Law, Organized by Warwick University and National Law University, Delhi, 2017
Broader Legal Scholarship by Dr. Pragya Mishra
Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dec 28, 2013
Corruption, the most widely quoted issue these days, is a growing menace infested in many growing... more Corruption, the most widely quoted issue these days, is a growing menace infested in many growing economies around the world including ours. Defined as the use of public office for private gain, or in other words, use of official position, rank or status by an office bearer for his own personal benefit, corruption inflicts collateral damage upon a political entity resulting in delays, disturbance, distortion and diversion of growth and development. Efforts to fight corruption over the past decades have shown that the dynamics of corruption are inherently political. Now that corruption has entered centre stage on the development agenda, reforms must address several fronts: improving the bureaucracy and civil service, strengthening checks and balances in government, promoting political competition and accountability, facilitating citizen participation, and strengthening economic competition.
Vidhigya: The Journal of Legal Awareness, 2012
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Books by Dr. Pragya Mishra
Neurolaw Papers by Dr. Pragya Mishra
determine whether free will or determinism should inform the debate of theories
behind criminal sentencing from retribution to rehabilitation. The author also tries
to draw a distinction between the Western conception of free will which involves freedom
of action from the Eastern concept of free will which emphasises freedom from
desire while highlighting a compatibilist view based on mindfulness and rehabilitation.
closer inspection reveals that emotions are not entirely absent from the positivist legal framework; and our legal system stresses upon shoring up against its influence thereby
skewing response to emotions in the administration of justice. Restructuring of the administration of justice to make it more emotionally coherent and accommodative besides incorporation of emotional intelligence studies in the curriculum of legal education as also in judicial training and sensitization to enable a thoughtful response to emotions shall not only be more fulfilling but also serve the ends of justice and equity better.
Conference Presentations by Dr. Pragya Mishra
Broader Legal Scholarship by Dr. Pragya Mishra
determine whether free will or determinism should inform the debate of theories
behind criminal sentencing from retribution to rehabilitation. The author also tries
to draw a distinction between the Western conception of free will which involves freedom
of action from the Eastern concept of free will which emphasises freedom from
desire while highlighting a compatibilist view based on mindfulness and rehabilitation.
closer inspection reveals that emotions are not entirely absent from the positivist legal framework; and our legal system stresses upon shoring up against its influence thereby
skewing response to emotions in the administration of justice. Restructuring of the administration of justice to make it more emotionally coherent and accommodative besides incorporation of emotional intelligence studies in the curriculum of legal education as also in judicial training and sensitization to enable a thoughtful response to emotions shall not only be more fulfilling but also serve the ends of justice and equity better.