Tailor-made intentions: Legal categories and (neuro)scientific tools

Abstract

The chapter provides a critical analysis of a particular forensic use of the aIAT test. Despite some severe criticism, the aIAT test has already been used in different trials to detect genuine memories. Recently, it has been suggested that the aIAT test could be a reliable tool in order to establish what the Italian criminal law defines as the psychological element of crime (mens rea). This chapter aims to show that this possible use of the test implies a radical transformation of the juridical categories at stake, both from an ontological and an epistemological point of view.