Compare and contrast the assumptions held by the legal system and those held by mental health professionals concerning the nature of the cause of human behavior

Answer:

The legal system starts with the assumption that individuals are in possession of "free will," that they have control over their behavior, and that they make choices and freely act on them. Thus, the law can hold people accountable for their actions. Mental health professionals tend to start from the assumption of "determinism," that is, all human behavior is the result of complex interactions between genetics, biological factors, past experience, local conditions, social pressures, etc., and they recognize that sometimes, as the result of factors, such as brain tumors or social coercion, individuals actually can be made to behave against their will. The law does make one exception with regard to the assumption of free will in the "insanity" defense that recognizes that an individual can be suffering from a mental disorder that clouds his reason, perception, or judgment so much that it no longer makes any logical or legal sense to hold him fully responsible for his actions. At this point, the two definitions overlap, and a judge and/or jury needs to sort out the issue of responsibility.