This essay considers the foundational rationale for why the law treats at least some mentally disordered people specially in a wide array of civil and criminal contexts. It suggests that non-responsible incapacity for rational behavior in specific contexts is the primary principle that warrants special legal treatment. It also considers the major distractions and confusions about why such special treatment is sometimes justifiable. It concludes with the reductionist challenge to conceptions of mental disorder and more broadly to the law that some advocate, usually based on the new neuroscience of brain imaging.

中文翻译：

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精神卫生法的结构、功能和未来。

本文考虑了为什么法律在广泛的民事和刑事背景下特别对待至少一些精神障碍者的基本原理。它表明，在特定情况下不负责任地丧失理性行为能力是需要特殊法律待遇的主要原则。它还考虑了为什么这种特殊待遇有时是合理的主要分心和困惑。它以对精神障碍概念的还原论挑战结束，更广泛地对某些人提倡的法律提出了挑战，这些法律通常基于脑成像的新神经科学。