About DIMENSIONS
DIMENSIONS is a five-year project at the Faculty of Law, University of Bergen. DIMENSIONS studies criminal insanity and how this legal doctrine is related to mental illnesses, particularly psychosis.
Main content
By fusing philosophy, legal research, and mental health research, DIMENSIONS seeks to develop the legal understanding of psychosis and how it is related to criminal insanity. With the Norwegian medical model as a legal basis, the project challenges current insanity paradigms.
The medical model identifies insanity exclusively with mental disorder and essentially with psychosis, without any requirement that this condition influence the crime. As such, this model carries specific opportunities to explore the interrelations between philosophical, legal, and medical premises involved in the problem. Ultimately, DIMENSIONS targets a unified insanity model that is valid across involved disciplines and that opens research paths beyond current insanity models.
The philosophical dimensions
The philsophical studies explore the foundations, possible justifications, and content of the insanity doctrine.
The positive legal dimensions
The positive legal studies explores how insanity and psychosis are conceptualised in argumentation in legal sources.
The medical dimensions
The medical studies explores the law’s understanding of psychosis.
Multidimensional analysis
Through mulitdimensional analysis, insights provided by the different studies are here brought together to analyse their relations and to explore the potential and content of a unified insanity doctrine.
Project team
- PI: Professor Linda Gröning (University of Bergen)
- Research group: Unn K. Haukvik (University of Oslo), Stephen J. Morse (University of Pennsylvania), Susanna Radovic (University of Gothenburg), Tova Bennet (University of Bergen), Stephen Mathis (University of Bergen).
- Research assistant: Anne Noddeland (University of Bergen).
- Administrative coordinator: Daniel Nygård (University of Bergen)
See full overview of involved persons here.
Read more
See here for a interview with the PI about the project.
Associated projects and researchers
Historicizing Intelligence (Research project, University of Oslo)
The implementation and impact of the ultimate penalty in Norway (Research project, Department of Mental Health - NTNU)
Controversies in Psychiatry: Coercive measures and medication (Research project, SIFER - Haukeland University Hospital)
Fare som grunnlag for tvungen psyskisk helsevern: Ein studie av strafferettens farebegrep (PhD project - Martin Mindestrømmen, University of Bergen)
DIMENSIONS
Project period
1th of June 2021 – 31st of May 2026.
Principle Investigator
Professor Linda Gröning
Funding
The project is funded by The Research Council of Norway (SAMKUL), in addition to financing by the Faculty of Law (UiB) and Helse Bergen.
