Luca Malatesti

My general research interests involve philosophy of mind and philosophy of psychiatry. Specifically, my research focuses on ethical and methodological issues that arise when scientific knowledge on the human mind, brain and behaviour interacts with our ordinary conceptions of persons, as can be seen in my research on the social responses to psychopathic individuals. Psychopathy is taken to be a personality disorder characterised by an antisocial interpersonal style and certain affective peculiarities. The issues whether psychopathic offenders are criminally responsible and how society, in general, should respond to them offer the possibility to explore philosophically several aspects of the interaction of scientific knowledge and our ordinary conception of the person, as it is embedded in our legal and other ordinary practices.

Scientific results concerning the characteristic impulsivity and affectivity of psychopathic individuals appear to offer interesting grounds for reflecting on how the application of legal insanity defence might be informed by scientific advancements. However, also possible theoretical pitfalls and challenges emerge when the Law interacts with the sciences of the mind and the brain. Moreover, establishing whether individuals with psychopathy suffer a mental disorder is another complex empirical and conceptual challenge.

Since 2022

Full Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Rijeka, Croatia

2016 - 2022

Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Rijeka, Croatia

2009 – 2016

Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Rijeka, Croatia

2005 – 2007

Welcome Trust Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Applied Ethics, University of Hull, UK

2000 – 2004

PhD in Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, University of Stirling, UK

1999 – 2000

MA in Philosophy of Mind, Department of Philosophy, University of Hull, UK

1987 – 1993

BA in Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, University of Florence, Italy