Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

I work in neuroethics with an emphasis on the neural basis of moral judgments and the implications of neuroscience for freedom and responsibility. I also explore potential future uses of neuroscience in the legal system, such as to detect lies, pain, or consciousness and to assess criminal responsibility and aid prediction of crime.

Honorary M.A., Dartmouth College, 1996

Ph.D., Yale University, Philosophy, 1982

M.Phil., Yale University, 1979

M.A., Yale University, Philosophy, 1978

B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Amherst College (Philosophy), 1977

Sinnott-Armstrong, W., and Nadel, L., eds. 2010. Conscious Will and Responsibility. New York: Oxford University Press.

“Is morality unified? Evidence that distinct neural systems underlie judgments of harm, dishonesty, and disgust” by Carolyn Parkinson, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Philipp E. Koralus, Angela Mendelovici, Victoria McGeer, and Thalia Wheatley, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 23:10, pp. 3162–3180

“The Neural Basis of Moral Verdict and Moral Deliberation”, by Jana Schaich Borg, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Vince D. Calhoun, & Kent A. Kiehl, Social Neuroscience (2011), iFirst, 1–16, published online at DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2011.559363