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Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations

Works Count: 30378

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This cluster of papers explores the ethical and societal implications of neuroenhancement technologies, focusing on the use of prescription stimulants and cognitive enhancement drugs, the impact of medicalization and pharmaceuticalization, neuroethics, brain imaging, and the concept of moral enhancement. The discussions also extend to transhumanism and the broader implications for human identity and autonomy.

Keywords

Neuroenhancement; Cognitive Enhancement; Prescription Stimulants; Ethical Issues; Medicalization; Neuroethics; Brain Imaging; Moral Enhancement; Transhumanism; Pharmaceuticalization

Enhancing evolution: the ethical case for making better people

2008-02-01

John William Harris

Preface to the Paperback Edition ix Foreword by Steve Rayner xix Acknowledgments xxv Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Has Humankind a Future? 8 Chapter 2: Enhancement Is a Moral Duty 19 … Preface to the Paperback Edition ix Foreword by Steve Rayner xix Acknowledgments xxv Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Has Humankind a Future? 8 Chapter 2: Enhancement Is a Moral Duty 19 Chapter 3: What Enhancements Are and Why They Matter 36 Chapter 4: Immortality 59 Chapter 5: Reproductive Choice and the Democratic Presumption 72 Chapter 6: Disability and Super-Ability 86 Chapter 7: Perfection and the Blue Guitar 109 Chapter 8: Good and Bad Uses of Technology 123 Chapter 9: Designer Children 143 Chapter 10: The Irredeemable Paradox of the Embryo 160 Chapter 11: The Obligation to Pursue and Participate in Research 184 Notes 207 Bibliography 227 Index 239

Beyond therapy: biotechnology and the pursuit of happiness

2004-11-01

León R. Kass

IntroductionW hat is biotechnology for?Why is it developed, used, and esteemed?Toward what ends is it taking us?To raise such questions will very likely strike the reader as strange, for the … IntroductionW hat is biotechnology for?Why is it developed, used, and esteemed?Toward what ends is it taking us?To raise such questions will very likely strike the reader as strange, for the answers seem so obvious: to feed the hungry, to cure the sick, to relieve the suffering-in a word, to improve the lot of humankind, or, in the memorable words of Francis Bacon, "to relieve man's estate."Stated in such general terms, the obvious answers are of course correct.But they do not tell the whole story, and, when carefully considered, they give rise to some challenging questions, questions that compel us to ask in earnest not only, "What is biotechnology for?" but also, "What should it be for?"Before reaching these questions, we had better specify what we mean by "biotechnology," for it is a new word for our new age.Though others have given it both narrow and broad definitions, * our purpose-for reasons that * These range from "engineering and biological study of relationships between human beings and machines" (Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary, 1988), to "biological science when applied especially in genetic engineering and recombinant DNA technology" (Merriam-Webster OnLine Dictionary, 2003), to "the use of biological processes to solve problems or make useful products" (Glossary provided by BIO, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, www.bio.org,2003).In the broader sense of the term that we will follow here, older biotechnologies would include fermentation (used to bake bread and brew beer) and plant and animal hybridization.Newer biotechnologies would include, among others, processes to produce genetically engineered crops, to repair genetic defects using genomic knowledge, to develop new drugs based on knowledge of biochemistry or molecular biology, and to improve biological capacities using nanotechnology.They include also the products obtained by these processes: nucleic acids and proteins, drugs, genetically modified cells, tissues derived from stem cells, biomechanical devices, etc.-in short, any industrially developed, useful agent that can alter the workings of the body or mind.* The importance, for assessing biomedical technologies, of the distinction between (1) the techniques and (2) the powers they make available

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Our posthuman future: consequences of the biotechnology revolution

2002-10-01

Francis Fukuyama

The dramatic advances in DNA technology over the last few years are the stuff of science fiction. It is now not only possible to clone human beings it is happening. … The dramatic advances in DNA technology over the last few years are the stuff of science fiction. It is now not only possible to clone human beings it is happening. For the first time since the creation of the earth four billion years ago, or the emergence of mankind 10 million years ago, people will be able to choose their children's' sex, height, colour, personality traits and intelligence. It will even be possible to create 'superhumans' by mixing human genes with those of other animals for extra strength or longevity. But is this desirable? What are the moral and political consequences? Will it mean anything to talk about 'human nature' any more? Is this the end of human beings? Post Human Society is a passionate analysis of the greatest political and moral problem ever to face the human race.

Robot ethics: the ethical and social implications of robotics

2012-10-01

Patrick K. F. Lin , Keith Abney , George A. Bekey

Robots today serve in many roles, from entertainer to educator to executioner. As robotics technology advances, ethical concerns become more pressing: Should robots be programmed to follow a code of … Robots today serve in many roles, from entertainer to educator to executioner. As robotics technology advances, ethical concerns become more pressing: Should robots be programmed to follow a code of ethics, if this is even possible? Are there risks in forming emotional bonds with robots? How might society--and ethics--change with robotics? This volume is the first book to bring together prominent scholars and experts from both science and the humanities to explore these and other questions in this emerging field. Starting with an overview of the issues and relevant ethical theories, the topics flow naturally from the possibility of programming robot ethics to the ethical use of military robots in war to legal and policy questions, including liability and privacy concerns. The contributors then turn to human-robot emotional relationships, examining the ethical implications of robots as sexual partners, caregivers, and servants. Finally, they explore the possibility that robots, whether biological-computational hybrids or pure machines, should be given rights or moral consideration. Ethics is often slow to catch up with technological developments. This authoritative and accessible volume fills a gap in both scholarly literature and policy discussion, offering an impressive collection of expert analyses of the most crucial topics in this increasingly important field.

The Essential Difference: The Truth about the Male and Female Brain

2004-05-01

Simon Baron‐Cohen

Simulating minds: the philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience of mindreading

2006-12-01

Alvin I. Goldman

People are minded creatures; we have thoughts, feelings and emotions. More intriguingly, we grasp our own mental states, and conduct the business of ascribing them to ourselves and others without … People are minded creatures; we have thoughts, feelings and emotions. More intriguingly, we grasp our own mental states, and conduct the business of ascribing them to ourselves and others without instruction in formal psychology. How do we do this? And what are the dimensions of our grasp of the mental realm? In this book, Alvin I. Goldman explores these questions with the tools of philosophy, developmental psychology, social psychology and cognitive neuroscience. He refines an approach called simulation theory, which starts from the familiar idea that we understand others by putting ourselves in their mental shoes. Can this intuitive idea be rendered precise in a philosophically respectable manner, without allowing simulation to collapse into theorizing? Given a suitable definition, do empirical results support the notion that minds literally create (or attempt to create) surrogates of other peoples mental states in the process of mindreading? Goldman amasses a surprising array of evidence from psychology and neuroscience that supports this hypothesis.

Delusions of gender: how our minds, society, and neurosexism create difference

2011-02-01

Cordelia Fine

It's the twenty-first century, and although we tried to rear unisex children-boys who play with dolls and girls who like trucks-we failed. Even though the glass ceiling is cracked, most … It's the twenty-first century, and although we tried to rear unisex children-boys who play with dolls and girls who like trucks-we failed. Even though the glass ceiling is cracked, most women stay comfortably beneath it. And everywhere we hear about vitally important differences between and brains. The neuroscience that we read about in magazines, newspaper articles, books, and sometimes even scientific journals increasingly tells a tale of two brains, and the result is more often than not a validation of the status quo. Women, it seems, are just too intuitive for math; men too focused for housework. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and psychology, Cordelia Fine debunks the myth of hardwired differences between men's and women's brains, unraveling the evidence behind such claims as men's brains aren't wired for empathy and women's brains aren't made to fix cars. She then goes one step further, offering a very different explanation of the dissimilarities between men's and women's behavior. Instead of a male brain and a female brain, Fine gives us a glimpse of plastic, mutable minds that are continuously influenced by cultural assumptions about gender. Passionately argued and unfailingly astute, Delusions of Gender provides us with a much-needed corrective to the belief that men's and women's brains are intrinsically different-a belief that, as Fine shows with insight and humor, all too often works to the detriment of ourselves and our society.

Descartes' baby: how the science of child development explains what makes us human

2004-11-01

Paul Bloom

Why is a forgery worth so much less than an original work of art?What's so funny about someone slipping on a banana peel? Why, as Freud once asked, is a … Why is a forgery worth so much less than an original work of art?What's so funny about someone slipping on a banana peel? Why, as Freud once asked, is a man willing to kiss a woman passionately, but not use her toothbrush? And how many times should you baptize a two-headed twin? Descartes' Baby answers such questions, questions we may have never thought to ask about such uniquely human traits as art, humour, faith, disgust, and morality. In this thought-provoking and fascinating account of human nature, psychologist Paul Bloom contends that we all see the world in terms of bodies and souls. Even babies have a rich understanding of both the physical and social worlds. They expect objects to obey principles of physics, and they're startled when things disappear or defy gravity. They can read the emotions of adults and respond with their own feelings of anger, sympathy and joy. This perspective remains with us throughout our lives. Using his own researches and new ideas from philosophy, evolutionary biology, aesthetics, theology, and neuroscience, Bloom shows how this way to making sense of reality can explain what makes us human. The myriad ways that our childhood views of the world undergo development throughout our lives and profoundly influences our thoughts, feelings, and actions is the subject of this richly rewarding book.

THE MORAL OBLIGATION TO CREATE CHILDREN WITH THE BEST CHANCE OF THE BEST LIFE

2008-12-05

Julian Savulescu , Guy Kahane

According to what we call the Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PB),couples who decide to have a child have a significant moral reason to select the child who, given his or … According to what we call the Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PB),couples who decide to have a child have a significant moral reason to select the child who, given his or her genetic endowment, can be expected to enjoy the most well-being. In the first part of this paper, we introduce PB,explain its content, grounds, and implications, and defend it against various objections. In the second part, we argue that PB is superior to competing principles of procreative selection such as that of procreative autonomy.In the third part of the paper, we consider the relation between PB and disability. We develop a revisionary account of disability, in which disability is a species of instrumental badness that is context- and person-relative.Although PB instructs us to aim to reduce disability in future children whenever possible, it does not privilege the normal. What matters is not whether future children meet certain biological or statistical norms, but what level of well-being they can be expected to have.

BRAIN AND CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCE

1967-03-01

John C. Eccles

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.

1980-01-01

Douglas R. Hofstadter , Jacqueline Henry , Robert M. French

From the Publisher: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this book applies Godel's seminal contribution to modern mathematics to the study of the human mind and the development of artificial intelligence. From the Publisher: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this book applies Godel's seminal contribution to modern mathematics to the study of the human mind and the development of artificial intelligence.

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Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence

2004-01-01

Mark Erickson , Andy Clark

From the Publisher: In Natural-Born Cyborgs, Clark argues that what makes humans so different from other species is our capacity to fully incorporate tools and supporting cultural practices into our … From the Publisher: In Natural-Born Cyborgs, Clark argues that what makes humans so different from other species is our capacity to fully incorporate tools and supporting cultural practices into our existence. Technology as simple as writing on a sketchpad, as familiar as Google or a cellular phone, and as potentially revolutionary as mind-extending neural implants - all exploit our brains' astonishingly plastic nature. Our minds are primed to seek out and incorporate nonbiological resources, so that we actually think and feel through our best technologies. Drawing on his expertise in cognitive science, Clark demonstrates that our sense of self and of physical presence can be expanded to a remarkable extent, placing the long-existing telephone and the emerging technology of telepresence on the same continuum. He explores ways in which we have adapted our lives to make use of technology (the measurement of time, for example, has wrought enormous changes in human existence), as well as ways in which increasingly fluid technologies can adapt to individual users during normal use. Bio-technological unions, Clark argues, are evolving with a speed never seen before in history. As we enter an age of wearable computers, sensory augmentation, wireless devices, intelligent environments, thought-controlled prosthetics, and rapid-fire information search and retrieval, the line between the user and her tools grows thinner day by day. This double whammy of plastic brains and increasingly responsive and well-fitted tools creates an unprecedented opportunity for ever-closer kinds of human-machine merger, he writes, arguing that such a merger is entirely natural.

Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain

1995-05-10

Robert Joynt

<i>Descartes' Error</i>is a delightfully written account of the author's views on brain function. It is suitable for people who wonder how we wonder, for physicians who need to be reminded … <i>Descartes' Error</i>is a delightfully written account of the author's views on brain function. It is suitable for people who wonder how we wonder, for physicians who need to be reminded of what a wonderful creation is the brain, and for scientists who want to see how a hypothesis should be tested. The book has two parts. The first is the development of the idea that the neural substrates for emotion and for reason are intertwined and that one is necessary for the other. The second part tests this proposal. The introductory portion retells the story of Phineas Gage, who had a tamping rod blown through his skull. He had profound behavioral changes following this terrible event. Recently, Hanna Damasio, also a noted neuroscientist, along with a group of investigators including the author, analyzed the extant skull of Gage and proposed that the most prominent damage was in the ventromedial

Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience

2005-03-24

Max R. Bennett , P. M. S. Hacker

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The case against perfection: Ethics in the age of genetic engineering

2007-10-01

Harry Ostrer

In book Delta of The metaphysics, Aristotle provided the oldest known definition of perfection: “That is perfect which is complete — which contains all the requisite parts; which is so … In book Delta of The metaphysics, Aristotle provided the oldest known definition of perfection: “That is perfect which is complete — which contains all the requisite parts; which is so good that nothing of the kind could be better; which has attained its purpose” (1). In Michael Sandel’s book The case against perfection: ethics in the age of genetic engineering, Aristotle figures only as a source of advice for sex selection — men should tie their left testicles prior to intercourse if they want to select for males; yet the metaphysics of perfection is reexamined through the lens of genetic enhancement. Sandel has written a fine, short book that is well worth the time of the casual reader or the reader in a bioethics class. Although he does not break new ground, he provides an excellent synthesis of the arguments for and against genetic enhancement. Despite his liberal leanings, his sympathies are apparent from the title. Sandel is a professor of political philosophy at Harvard University, known for his work on liberalism and justice. In a development he did not anticipate, he was appointed to the President’s Council on Bioethics. An accidental tourist to bioethics, Sandel brought his on-the-job training back to the academy where he team-taught a course, “Ethics, biotechnology, and the future of human nature,” with Douglas Melton, a well-regarded Harvard stem cell biologist. This book is an offshoot of that course. Sandel believes that parents have a duty to promote their children’s excellence. He recognizes that they both do and overdo this already with the use of Ritalin, orthodontics, and Scholastic Aptitude Test coaches as well as in many other material ways. Yet, he asks, if it is permissible and even admirable for parents to help their children in these ways, why isn’t it equally admirable for parents to use whatever genetic technologies may emerge to enhance their children’s intelligence, musical ability, appearance, or athletic skill? An emerging group of liberal eugenicists believe that eugenic measures, such as embryo selection, are unobjectionable and may be morally required as long as the benefits and burdens are fairly distributed throughout society. Legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin (quoted by Sandel) stated, “If playing God means struggling to improve our species, bringing into our conscious designs a resolution to improve whatever God deliberately or nature blindly has evolved over eons, then the first principles of ethical individualism command the struggle.” But despite his willingness to explore arguments pro and con, Sandel is no liberal eugenicist. Rather, he argues that eugenic parenting is objectionable because it shows a misunderstanding of our place in creation and confuses our role with God’s. This was the error of Prometheus. Sandel is bucking the tide of progressive scientific thinking. Recently, noted physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson boldly proclaimed that the domestication of biotechnology will dominate our lives during the next 50 years, much as the domestication of computers has dominated our lives during the past 50 (2). Biologist Robert Sinsheimer grandly noted that humans can improve upon human evolution. For Sandel, that vision of freedom to undertake genetic manipulation is flawed because it threatens to banish our appreciation of life as a divine gift. Yet Sandel’s arguments about the equivalency of genetic enhancement to other forms of enhancement are too compelling to exclude genetic enhancement on the grounds of Promethean hubris. If we condone the use of athletic trainers, plastic surgery, and, on occasion, performance-enhancing drugs, then why not bioengineering and gene therapy? Following the line of Promethean thinking may provide a clue. Prometheus was punished for stealing fire from the gods, but so too was mankind — Pandora was created and given a box that released all of mankind’s evils. Safety, rather than metaphysics, has been the most critical hurdle for genetic enhancement. Because of early untoward events, advisory panels and regulatory agencies have tried to keep the Pandora’s box of cloning and gene therapy closed until it might be opened responsibly. Recognizing that Dolly, the cloned sheep, had a premature death and that other cloned animals show a high frequency of birth defects, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies called for a legally enforceable ban on human cloning until safety and efficacy could be demonstrated in animals. Unanticipated death and leukemia in children treated with gene therapy for correction of genetic disorders led the Food and Drug Administration to halt all gene therapy trials using retroviral vectors (3). Sandel is cognizant that Pandora’s box may be closed for the present, but even if the safety issues are surmounted, genetic enhancement threatens to leave us with nothing to affirm or behold outside our own will.

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Shame and Guilt in Neurosis

1974-12-01

Robert L. Leon

IN DEFENSE OF POSTHUMAN DIGNITY

2005-06-01

Nick Bostrom

Positions on the ethics of human enhancement technologies can be (crudely) characterized as ranging from transhumanism to bioconservatism. Transhumanists believe that human enhancement technologies should be made widely available, that … Positions on the ethics of human enhancement technologies can be (crudely) characterized as ranging from transhumanism to bioconservatism. Transhumanists believe that human enhancement technologies should be made widely available, that individuals should have broad discretion over which of these technologies to apply to themselves, and that parents should normally have the right to choose enhancements for their children-to-be. Bioconservatives (whose ranks include such diverse writers as Leon Kass, Francis Fukuyama, George Annas, Wesley Smith, Jeremy Rifkin, and Bill McKibben) are generally opposed to the use of technology to modify human nature. A central idea in bioconservativism is that human enhancement technologies will undermine our human dignity. To forestall a slide down the slippery slope towards an ultimately debased 'posthuman' state, bioconservatives often argue for broad bans on otherwise promising human enhancements. This paper distinguishes two common fears about the posthuman and argues for the importance of a concept of dignity that is inclusive enough to also apply to many possible posthuman beings. Recognizing the possibility of posthuman dignity undercuts an important objection against human enhancement and removes a distortive double standard from our field of moral vision.

From chance to choice: genetics and justice

2000-11-01

Allen Buchanan , Dan W. Brock , Norman Daniels +1 more

This book, written by four internationally renowned bioethicists and first published in 2000, was the first systematic treatment of the fundamental ethical issues underlying the application of genetic technologies to … This book, written by four internationally renowned bioethicists and first published in 2000, was the first systematic treatment of the fundamental ethical issues underlying the application of genetic technologies to human beings. Probing the implications of the remarkable advances in genetics, the authors ask how should these affect our understanding of distributive justice, equality of opportunity, the rights and obligations as parents, the meaning of disability, and the role of the concept of human nature in ethical theory and practice. The book offers a historical context to contemporary debate over the use of these technologies by examining the eugenics movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The questions raised in this book will be of interest to any reflective reader concerned about science and society and the rapid development of biotechnology, as well as to professionals in such areas as philosophy, bioethics, medical ethics, health management, law, and political science.

Anticipation: Technoscience, life, affect, temporality

2009-09-01

Vincanne Adams , Michelle Murphy , Adele E. Clarke

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Are prescription stimulants “smart pills”? The epidemiology and cognitive neuroscience of prescription stimulant use by normal healthy individuals.

2011-08-22

Mary E. Smith , Martha J. Farah

Use of prescription stimulants by normal healthy individuals to enhance cognition is said to be on the rise. Who is using these medications for cognitive enhancement, and how prevalent is … Use of prescription stimulants by normal healthy individuals to enhance cognition is said to be on the rise. Who is using these medications for cognitive enhancement, and how prevalent is this practice? Do prescription stimulants in fact enhance cognition for normal healthy people? We review the epidemiological and cognitive neuroscience literatures in search of answers to these questions. Epidemiological issues addressed include the prevalence of nonmedical stimulant use, user demographics, methods by which users obtain prescription stimulants, and motivations for use. Cognitive neuroscience issues addressed include the effects of prescription stimulants on learning and executive function, as well as the task and individual variables associated with these effects. Little is known about the prevalence of prescription stimulant use for cognitive enhancement outside of student populations. Among college students, estimates of use vary widely but, taken together, suggest that the practice is commonplace. The cognitive effects of stimulants on normal healthy people cannot yet be characterized definitively, despite the volume of research that has been carried out on these issues. Published evidence suggests that declarative memory can be improved by stimulants, with some evidence consistent with enhanced consolidation of memories. Effects on the executive functions of working memory and cognitive control are less reliable but have been found for at least some individuals on some tasks. In closing, we enumerate the many outstanding questions that remain to be addressed by future research and also identify obstacles facing this research.

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Modafinil and methylphenidate for neuroenhancement in healthy individuals: A systematic review

2010-04-22

Dimitris Repantis , Peter Schlattmann , Oona Laisney +1 more

Cognitive Enhancement: Methods, Ethics, Regulatory Challenges

2009-06-18

Nick Bostrom , Anders Sandberg

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Understanding ‘anticipatory governance’

2013-11-15

David H. Guston

Anticipatory governance is ‘a broad-based capacity extended through society that can act on a variety of inputs to manage emerging knowledge-based technologies while such management is still possible’. It motivates … Anticipatory governance is ‘a broad-based capacity extended through society that can act on a variety of inputs to manage emerging knowledge-based technologies while such management is still possible’. It motivates activities designed to build capacities in foresight, engagement, and integration – as well as through their production ensemble. These capacities encourage and support the reflection of scientists, engineers, policy makers, and other publics on their roles in new technologies. This article reviews the early history of the National Nanotechnology Initiative in the United States, and it further explicates anticipatory governance through exploring the genealogy of the term and addressing a set of critiques found in the literature. These critiques involve skepticism of three proximities of anticipatory governance: to its object, nanotechnology, which is a relatively indistinct one; to the public, which remains almost utterly naïve toward nanotechnology; and to technoscience itself, which allegedly renders anticipatory governance complicit in its hubris. The article concludes that the changing venues and the amplification within them of the still, small voices of folks previously excluded from offering constructive visions of futures afforded by anticipatory governance may not be complete solutions to our woes in governing technology, but they certainly can contribute to bending the long arc of technoscience more toward humane ends.

Towards responsible use of cognitive-enhancing drugs by the healthy

2008-12-07

Henry T. Greely , Barbara J. Sahakian , John Harris +4 more

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How the Mind Works

1999-06-01

Steven Pinker

Neurocognitive enhancement: what can we do and what should we do?

2004-05-01

Martha J. Farah , Judy Illes , Robert Cook‐Deegan +6 more

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Non‐medical use of prescription stimulants among US college students: prevalence and correlates from a national survey

2004-12-10

Sean Esteban McCabe , John R. Knight , Christian J. Teter +1 more

ABSTRACT Aims To examine the prevalence rates and correlates of non‐medical use of prescription stimulants (Ritalin, Dexedrine or Adderall) among US college students in terms of student and college characteristics. … ABSTRACT Aims To examine the prevalence rates and correlates of non‐medical use of prescription stimulants (Ritalin, Dexedrine or Adderall) among US college students in terms of student and college characteristics. Design A self‐administered mail survey. Setting One hundred and nineteen nationally representative 4‐year colleges in the United States. Participants A representative sample of 10 904 randomly selected college students in 2001. Measurements Self‐reports of non‐medical use of prescription stimulants and other substance use behaviors. Findings The life‐time prevalence of non‐medical prescription stimulant use was 6.9%, past year prevalence was 4.1% and past month prevalence was 2.1%. Past year rates of non‐medical use ranged from zero to 25% at individual colleges. Multivariate regression analyses indicated non‐medical use was higher among college students who were male, white, members of fraternities and sororities and earned lower grade point averages. Rates were higher at colleges located in the north‐eastern region of the US and colleges with more competitive admission standards. Non‐medical prescription stimulant users were more likely to report use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and other risky behaviors. Conclusions The findings of the present study provide evidence that non‐medical use of prescription stimulants is more prevalent among particular subgroups of US college students and types of colleges. The non‐medical use of prescription stimulants represents a high‐risk behavior that should be monitored further and intervention efforts are needed to curb this form of drug use.

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The Affective Turn

2008-01-01

Patricia Ticineto Clough

Taking the biomediated body to be a historically specific mode of organization of material forces, invested by capital into being, as well as elaborated through various technoscientific discourses, the article … Taking the biomediated body to be a historically specific mode of organization of material forces, invested by capital into being, as well as elaborated through various technoscientific discourses, the article traces these investments and the discursive productions of the biomediated body, linking it to an ongoing reconfiguration of governance and economy.

The ego tunnel: the science of the mind and the myth of the self

2010-02-01

We're used to thinking about the self as an independent entity, something that we either have or are. In The Ego Tunnel, philosopher Thomas Metzinger claims otherwise: No such thing … We're used to thinking about the self as an independent entity, something that we either have or are. In The Ego Tunnel, philosopher Thomas Metzinger claims otherwise: No such thing as self exists. The conscious self is the content of model created by our brain--an internal image, but one we cannot experience as an image. Everything we experience is a virtual self in virtual reality. But if the self is not real, why and how did it evolve? How does the brain construct it? Do we still have souls, free will, personal autonomy, or moral accountability? In time when the science of cognition is becoming as controversial as evolution, The Ego Tunnel provides stunningly original take on the mystery of the mind.

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Brainhood, anthropological figure of modernity

2009-01-26

Fernando Vidal

If personhood is the quality or condition of being an individual person, brainhood could name the quality or condition of being a brain. This ontological quality would define the `cerebral … If personhood is the quality or condition of being an individual person, brainhood could name the quality or condition of being a brain. This ontological quality would define the `cerebral subject' that has, at least in industrialized and highly medicalized societies, gained numerous social inscriptions since the mid-20th century. This article explores the historical development of brainhood. It suggests that the brain is necessarily the location of the `modern self', and that, consequently, the cerebral subject is the anthropological figure inherent to modernity (at least insofar as modernity gives supreme value to the individual as autonomous agent of choice and initiative). It further argues that the ideology of brainhood impelled neuroscientific investigation much more than it resulted from it, and sketches how an expanding constellation of neurocultural discourses and practices embodies and sustains that ideology.

Illicit Use of Specific Prescription Stimulants Among College Students: Prevalence, Motives, and Routes of Administration

2006-09-26

Christian J. Teter , Sean Esteban McCabe , Kristy LaGrange +2 more

To explore the illicit use of specific prescription stimulants among college students and add to our understanding of reasons (motives) and routes of administration associated with illicit use of these … To explore the illicit use of specific prescription stimulants among college students and add to our understanding of reasons (motives) and routes of administration associated with illicit use of these drugs.

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The Need for a New Medical Model: A Challenge for Biomedicine

2012-09-01

George L. Engel

Hope Against Hype - Accountability in Biopasts, Presents and Futures

2003-01-01

N. Derek Brown

We are today wholly accustomed to being daily bombarded with (often competing) claims about the seemingly limitless potential and promise of transgenics, predictive medicine, reproductive science, bioinformatics and much else … We are today wholly accustomed to being daily bombarded with (often competing) claims about the seemingly limitless potential and promise of transgenics, predictive medicine, reproductive science, bioinformatics and much else besides. Stories of new breakthroughs and advances mesh with ‘our’ culturally embedded sense of the steady march of enlightenment progress. Each announcement seems to index a sequential pulse in the accomplishment of the ‘biotechnology revolution’. In more grounded terms, the talking-up of biotechnology prizes open the accounts of funding agencies and investors, in addition to winning the necessary support of various critical allies (patients, publics, regulators, etc). In equal measure, hyper-expectations feed into and fuel the complex counter concerns of oppositional cultures (new social movements, NGOs, etc). And yet these accounts of revolutionary potentially sit uncomfortably alongside our equally familiar experiences of unfulfilled promises, the awkward absence of future benefits, treatments, rewards and profits. This is not always the case, but more often than not, early hopes are rarely proportionate to actual future results. This paper charts key features in the ‘dynamics of expectations’, documenting the relationships between new hopes and emerging disappointments. It explores the routes of agency in the construction of the present’s future and touches on the possibilities for greater accountability in the political economy of biotechnological expectations.

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Towards new human rights in the age of neuroscience and neurotechnology

2017-04-03

Marcello Ienca , Roberto Andorno

Rapid advancements in human neuroscience and neurotechnology open unprecedented possibilities for accessing, collecting, sharing and manipulating information from the human brain. Such applications raise important challenges to human rights principles … Rapid advancements in human neuroscience and neurotechnology open unprecedented possibilities for accessing, collecting, sharing and manipulating information from the human brain. Such applications raise important challenges to human rights principles that need to be addressed to prevent unintended consequences. This paper assesses the implications of emerging neurotechnology applications in the context of the human rights framework and suggests that existing human rights may not be sufficient to respond to these emerging issues. After analysing the relationship between neuroscience and human rights, we identify four new rights that may become of great relevance in the coming decades: the right to cognitive liberty, the right to mental privacy, the right to mental integrity, and the right to psychological continuity.

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Genes, Culture, Democracy, and Happiness

2000-09-15

Ronald Inglehart , Hans‐Dieter Klingemann

Bios: biopolitics and philosophy

2008-11-01

Control and Freedom: Power and Paranoia in the Age of Fiber Optics

2007-03-01

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease: March 2007 - Volume 195 - Issue 3 - p 275 doi: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e318033a8af The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease: March 2007 - Volume 195 - Issue 3 - p 275 doi: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e318033a8af

PROBLEMI RANOG RAZVOJA STIDA I KRIVICE U PSIHOANALITIČKIM TEORIJAMA

2025-06-25

P. Jovanović | Krugovi detinjstva - časopis za multidisciplinarna istraživanja detinjstva

Dok vodeće akademske teorije emocionalnog razvoja stid i krivicu posmatraju kao emocije koje uključuju samosvest pojavljujući se kao poželjne posledice socijalizacije na kasnijim uzrastima, psihoanalitičke teorije ih opisuju kao rana … Dok vodeće akademske teorije emocionalnog razvoja stid i krivicu posmatraju kao emocije koje uključuju samosvest pojavljujući se kao poželjne posledice socijalizacije na kasnijim uzrastima, psihoanalitičke teorije ih opisuju kao rana nesvesna iskustva koja se prepoznaju u etiologiji različitih mentalnih poremećaja u odraslom dobu. U radu su kritički analizirane vodeće psihoanalitičke teorije u cilju razmatranja problema (a) adultomorfizma (b) patologizacije i (c) nesvesnosti ranih oblika stida i krivice. Pokazuje se da psihoanalitičari podrazumevaju distorzivno-imaginarno-nagonsko-izražajno-fenomenološko značenje dečje (samo)svesti koje se razlikuje od onog koje pronalazimo u akademskim teorijama. Teorije nisu saglasne po pitanju uzrasta na kojima možemo očekivati pojavu stida i krivice jer se bave njihovim različitim manifestacijama od kojih neke mogu imati razvojni, a neke klinički predznak. Tako možemo prepoznati (a) razvojne oblike stida i krivice u vidu anticipatornog stida, stida socijalizacije psihoseksualnog razvoja, depresivne ili izvorne krivice, kao i njihove (b) kliničke oblike u vidu stida odbrambene grandioznosti, stida dezintegracije ega, persekutorne ili samokažnjavalačke krivice. Na kraju, artikulisani su mogući razlozi postojećeg razmimoilaženja između akademskih i psihoanalitičkih teorija, dok je u cilju njihovog približavanja skrenuta pažnja na interpretativno-eksplanatorni potencijal dva zapažanja Vigotskog: (1) unutar najranije razvojne strukture „pra-mi” dete nema doživljaj biopsihosocijalne izdvojenosti iz sredine; (2) ontogenetski razvoj predstavlja „ispreturan” proces razvoja nižih i viših emocija u kojem se nesvesno pojavljuje usled razvoja (samo)svesti.

Centaurs and Cyborgs

2025-06-25

| Advances in computational intelligence and robotics book series

Generative AI has evolved digital content creation, yet its true potential emerges only through a deliberate synthesis of machine efficiency and human expertise. This chapter examines the imperative for hybridized … Generative AI has evolved digital content creation, yet its true potential emerges only through a deliberate synthesis of machine efficiency and human expertise. This chapter examines the imperative for hybridized skill sets through three key dimensions. First, it explains why hybridization is essential—illustrating that combining AI's rapid, scalable production with human oversight in technical literacy, creative intuition, and ethical judgment results in more nuanced, high-quality content than either element can produce alone. Second, the chapter explores practical applications and workflow models for creating video, audio, and text-based content, contrasting the centaur approach (which preserves clear distinctions between human and AI contributions) with the cyborg model (which fully integrates both into a seamless process), and offers case studies that demonstrate how addressing workflow pain points leads to innovative content strategies and distinctive aesthetics. Third, it examines current limitations, highlighting gaps in automation and postproduction.

Mental privacy: navigating risks, rights and regulation

2025-06-25

Łukasz Szoszkiewicz , Rafael Yuste | EMBO Reports

Building resilience when neural implants are abandoned

2025-06-25

George Kouvas , Christopher Coenen , Dirk Hommrich +3 more | Nature Medicine

AI, neurotechnology and society — a question of trust

2025-06-24

Georg Starke , Marcello Ienca | Nature Reviews Neurology

Digital Resurrection and Posthumous Identity: Toward a Cross-Cultural Neurorights Framework

2025-06-24

Y. Tony Yang | AJOB Neuroscience

Digital resurrection technologies use artificial intelligence to recreate the voices, images, and personalities of deceased individuals, raising ethical concerns about memory, identity, and respect for the dignity of the deceased. … Digital resurrection technologies use artificial intelligence to recreate the voices, images, and personalities of deceased individuals, raising ethical concerns about memory, identity, and respect for the dignity of the deceased. This paper examines key neuroethical challenges, including mental privacy, cognitive liberty, and the authenticity of AI-generated representations. Rather than framing East-West differences as opposing cultural values, the paper identifies shared ethical concerns expressed through diverse practices. It proposes a cross-cultural governance framework based on universal principles: protecting mental privacy, ensuring faithful representations of identity, and preventing exploitation. Practical mechanisms include digital neural wills, tiered regulation based on technology capabilities, and structured family decision-making. By integrating evidence from neuroscience, law, and cultural studies, this framework aims to ensure that digital resurrection technologies support ethical remembrance rather than commodifying identity. Without proactive governance, these technologies risk distorting how societies remember and honor the deceased.

The Philosophy of Transhumanism and the Question of Ethics in the Age of Enhancements

2025-06-24

Tariq Ejjabbar | The Review of Contemporary Scientific and Academic Studies

Onboarding for neurodiversity

2025-06-23

William J. Rothwell , Jonathan D. Zion | Routledge eBooks

An alternative view on the ethics of synthetic biology: an Indian Hindu perspective

2025-06-23

Varsha Aravind Paleri | Global Bioethics

Attacks on Artificial Intelligence

2025-06-20

Kukatlapalli Pradeep Kumar , Boppuru Rudra Prathap , Vinay Jha Pillai +1 more | Apple Academic Press eBooks

Precautionary Principle and Post-Mortem Brain Resuscitation

2025-06-20

Brandon R. Long , David B. Resnik | Neuroethics

Transhumanism, Human Enhancement and Ethical Debate

2025-06-20

Prakash Sharma , Toya Nath Upadhyay | American Journal of Arts and Human Science

Human civilization, in different stages, has witnessed numerous religious and philosophical movements that have proposed human enhancement. When human society was dominated by human labor, they proposed humanistic ways to … Human civilization, in different stages, has witnessed numerous religious and philosophical movements that have proposed human enhancement. When human society was dominated by human labor, they proposed humanistic ways to overcome human problems and surpass human limitations. The introduction of new technologies in human society has led to a change in human thought. Tranhumanism as a philosophical movement is the result of techno-dominated human society that advocates for the harmonious combination of man and machine or technology. This paper attempts to clarify about this movement drawing from its historical roots, philosophical bases to modern institutions and thinkers associated with it. Critical observation of the ideas of different thinkers has led to the conclusion that transhumanism opens multiple opportunities to human enhancement. However, the issue of ethics remains prominent. It ultimately leads to the crumbling of traditional norms, values, rules and regulations, and creates the need of redefining human beings, human relations and human identity. However, there is no way out than accepting it. The paper is in qualitative research design based on the library study. It derives data from scholarly publications, books and articles and utilizes the sources from the internet. This research work is beneficial for those who are interested in the future of humanity with advancements in science and technology. Similarly, it opens up the research path for exploring human psychology and human relationship in techno guided modern world.

O pós-humano do transhumanismo

2025-06-20

Tiago Xavier | Griot Revista de Filosofia

O presente artigo pretende apresentar o movimento cultural e filosófico denominado de transhumanismo, explorando a sua filosofia em prol de explicitar o seu ideal de transcendência humana, já que este … O presente artigo pretende apresentar o movimento cultural e filosófico denominado de transhumanismo, explorando a sua filosofia em prol de explicitar o seu ideal de transcendência humana, já que este movimento vislumbra a possibilidade de a espécie humana transcender a si mesma por meio da ciência e tecnologia ‒ objetivando o pós-humano. Para tanto, mostrar-se-á que o transhumanismo e pós-humanismo podem muito bem ser pensados conjuntamente e compreendidos da seguinte forma: o pós-humanismo é o ponto no qual o transhumanismo com a pretensão de melhoramento e aprimoramento humano, levada até as últimas consequências, chegará.

Introduction to Neuroethics

2025-06-20

Sukumar Vijayaraghavan | CRC Press eBooks

A feminist standpoint for cognitive neuroscience

2025-06-20

Vanessa A. Bentley | Synthese

Moral self-enhancement

2025-06-19

Constantine Sedikides , Chloe Webb , Nicholas J. Kelley | Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks

A Review of the Evidence Surrounding Popular Cognitive Enhancers

2025-06-19

Khaled Draghmeh , Mohamed Elmarasi , Brian Fuehrlein | Current Psychopharmacologye

Abstract: Cognitive enhancers, also known as nootropics, have spiked in popularity in recent years, leading to rising use of these substances with unclear guidelines on their efficacy and safety. This … Abstract: Cognitive enhancers, also known as nootropics, have spiked in popularity in recent years, leading to rising use of these substances with unclear guidelines on their efficacy and safety. This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of over-the-counter nootropics in enhancing various cognitive functions, such as memory and attention. The existing literature surrounding cognitive enhancers has focused predominantly on their cognitive enhancing abilities in individuals with cognitive impairments with limited clinical evidence on their role in healthy individuals. To address this gap, a comprehensive review of several widely used over-the-counter cognitive enhancers was conducted, excluding stimulant and prescription substances, focusing on their mechanism of action and safety profiles. The cognitive enhancers that were reviewed can be grouped into five different classes, including herbs, amino acids, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, cholinergic enhancers, and vitamins. It was found that while some cognitive enhancers have shown promising results in specific cognitive domains, there is still more research needed to support their widespread use with more focus on clinical trials to validate their long-term benefits and safety.

The Risk of Ethicalisation in Ethical Engagement with Quantum Technologies: Some Brief Considerations

2025-06-18

Clare Shelley‐Egan | NanoEthics

Dementia, bodies and technologies of the We

2025-06-18

Christian Meier zu Verl | Routledge eBooks

Rethinking genetic borders in 'The Hunger Games'

2025-06-18

Kevser Ateş | English Studies at NBU

Emphasizing the fading distinction between reality and artificiality due to the innovations in the fields of science and biotechnology, this paper argues that the fantasy world depicted by science fiction … Emphasizing the fading distinction between reality and artificiality due to the innovations in the fields of science and biotechnology, this paper argues that the fantasy world depicted by science fiction is no longer far from today's reality. Although technological advancements have enabled us to live more comfortably, when they are misused by those seeking to use them as a sign of power or superiority, they can have disastrous effects on both people and the environment. This study explores how an oppressive regime called Capitol in The Hunger Games employs science and technology to transform animals and humans into commodities within the arena, reducing them to instruments of entertainment. The Games' intentional replacement of natural beings with biotechnological mutations serves as a deliberate display of power, employing genetically engineered species as weapons and reviving the dead as monsters. This not only captivates the audience but also strengthens the regime’s superiority, exemplifying how technology is weaponized to manipulate both fear and entertainment.

Law and Morality in the Era of the Transhumanist Transition

2025-06-18

Yaroslav A. Tretyakov | Общество философия история культура

Philosophical and sociological scenario modeling of a transhumanist future was conducted, in which artificial intelligence algorithms, biotechnologies, and digital infrastructure radically transform moral and legal norms. The aim of the … Philosophical and sociological scenario modeling of a transhumanist future was conducted, in which artificial intelligence algorithms, biotechnologies, and digital infrastructure radically transform moral and legal norms. The aim of the study is to reconstruct a possible trajectory for the evolution of law and morality under the pres-sure of accelerating technological, socioeconomic, and cultural trends. The object is the dynamics of legal and ethical systems in a society transitioning to a technocratic model with ubiquitous algorithmic governance and pervasive digitalization. The study employs an interdisciplinary approach that combines social philosophy, AI ethics, futurology, and legal theory. Its principal tool is analytic extrapolation, which condenses numerous dis-parate concepts into a single model. This model highlights critical shifts in the normative sphere: from replacing traditional ethical debates with algorithmic “codes” to introducing distributed responsibility and the virtualization of punishments. The analysis shows that a one-sided focus on computational efficiency can erode empathy, undermine personal autonomy, and trigger a crisis in the very meaning of the normative system. The work’s scientific novelty lies in its comprehensive theoretical reflection on the future evolution of law and morality un-der conditions of total algorithmization and transhumanist transformation. It proposes a set of novel ethical-legal challenges – ranging from “patch ethics” (cyclical updates of AI moral codes) and the alignment problem of artificial intelligence to the notion of post-human law that accounts for the interests of digital consciousness-es. In doing so, the study underscores the vulnerability of human identity and values in the face of algorithmic governance and the prospect of “post-human” normativity. The present study treats the described futurological scenario as a hypothetical model requiring further empirical validation and a consistent adaptation of legisla-tion – up to and including potential amendments to constitutional norms.

The Land That Time Forgot? Planetary Health and the Criminal Justice System

2025-06-18

Alan C. Logan , Colleen M. Berryessa , John S. Callender +4 more | Challenges

Planetary health is a transdisciplinary concept that erases the dividing lines between individual and community health, and the natural systems that support the wellbeing of humankind. Despite planetary health’s broad … Planetary health is a transdisciplinary concept that erases the dividing lines between individual and community health, and the natural systems that support the wellbeing of humankind. Despite planetary health’s broad emphasis on justice, the promotion of science-based policies, and stated commitments to fairness, equity, and harm reduction, the criminal justice system has largely escaped scrutiny. This seems to be a major oversight, especially because the criminalization of mental illness is commonplace, and the system continues to be oriented around a prescientific compass of retribution and folk beliefs in willpower, moral fiber, and blameworthiness. Justice-involved juveniles and adults are funneled into landscapes of mass incarceration with ingrained prescientific assumptions. In non-criminal realms, such as obesity, there is a growing consensus that folk psychology ideas must be addressed at the root and branch. With this background, the Nova Institute for Health convened a transdisciplinary roundtable to explore the need for a ‘Copernican Revolution’ in the application of biopsychosocial sciences in law and criminal justice. This included discussions of scientific advances in neurobiology and omics technologies (e.g., the identification of metabolites and other biological molecules involved in behavior), the need for science education, ethical considerations, and the public health quarantine model of safety that abandons retribution.

Challenges of the inconsistent neurorights framework in Latin America

2025-06-18

Diego Borbón | Nature Neuroscience

UNESCO’s Recommendation on Neurotechnology: realizing the rights of people with mental disabilities

2025-06-18

Christoph Bublitz , Francisco José Bariffi , Marta Sosa Navarro +1 more | Nature Mental Health

The Dark Side of Cognitive Enhancement: A Framework for the Technologically Induced Cognitive Diminishment

2025-06-17

Marco Fasoli , Guido Cassinadri , Marcello Ienca | Journal of Cognitive Enhancement

The Ethical Issues of Neurotechnologies

2025-06-17

Susanna Davtyan , Milena Mesropyan | IntechOpen eBooks

The main objective of this chapter is to consider the features of neuroethics as an emerging scientific problem. Neuroethics is viewed from several angles. On the one hand, it is … The main objective of this chapter is to consider the features of neuroethics as an emerging scientific problem. Neuroethics is viewed from several angles. On the one hand, it is presented as a new issue in bioethics and on the other hand, it is studied as a part of social transformations, which in the era of biotechnology has received the name “human enhancement”. The social, economic and political consequences of the use of neurotechnologies in different fields of life are also analyzed. The need for critical reflection and ethical regulation of the use of neurotechnologies, especially as directed by organizations, such as UNESCO, is emphasized.

Mutation in Media and Popular Culture

2025-06-16

Ashleigh Prosser , Kirstin A. Mills , Lorna Piatti‐Farnell | M/C Journal

The concept of mutation has transcended its scientific origins to become a powerful metaphor in media and popular culture for transformation, adaptation, and fear of the unknown. From the genetic … The concept of mutation has transcended its scientific origins to become a powerful metaphor in media and popular culture for transformation, adaptation, and fear of the unknown. From the genetic mutations of Marvel’s X-Men superheroes to the biological horror of the infected in The Last of Us, representations of mutation in popular culture often serve as a means to challenge our understanding of the boundaries of the human condition and what it means to be ‘human’. Mutation is of course not limited to its manifestation in media as embodied physical or biological change and the ethical implications of such experimentation; it can also signify shifts in our understandings of reality and identity, technology and society. In all of these contexts, mutation is the catalyst for change. For instance, the recent evolution of our engagement with generative artificial intelligence, immersive virtual and augmented realities, digital personas and afterlives, and the future of cybernetic implants asks where the ‘original’ and the ‘mutated’ hybrid-self begins and ends. While some may consider such changes to be an inevitable evolution of the self, others may argue they are a monstrous mutation, and with the complexity of these developments our very understanding of personhood is itself brought into question. Likewise, anxieties about viral mutation and ecological collapse in our post-pandemic era of climate crisis speak to the ongoing relevance of the concept of mutation for the way we seek to understand ourselves and our relationship with the world. The smallest of mutations can have profound consequences for ourselves, for our societies, and for all life on our planet. The articles in this issue explore ‘mutation’ across the diversity of its representation in media and popular culture, exploring the ways in which it too has ‘mutated’ over the years in multifaceted ways across many and varied modalities. Many of the articles foreground the importance of the visual in thematising and exploring mutation and its related entanglements with – and challenges to – seemingly stable, ‘whole’ and often binary categories such as gender, sexuality, identity, the body, and particularly the boundaries of the human as set against its ecological and technological contexts. Of particular interest are the ways in which mutation as a concept has the power to transform traditional expectations of popular media and culture by transcending artistic boundaries or thematic expectations of certain genres, forms, styles, and modalities. Our feature article, Megan Catherine Rose and Patrick W. Galbraith’s “Mutating Hyperfemininity in Bishōjo Art: On Sugary Symbiote” examines a form of mutation that places the visual front and centre in its political mission and meaning. This article examines “the queer and transformative potential” of mutation in the context of bishōjo, which are manga or anime-style “cute girls”. Arguing that this art form has traditionally been interpreted as objects produced by and for men, Rose and Galbraith explore the reinterpretation – or mutation – of bishōjo by women and gender-diverse people, taking as their case study the work of Sugary Symbiote, a Black, disabled, and sapphic artist in the United States. Sugary Symbiote’s illustrations, several examples of which are generously reproduced within this article, evidence a broad movement by global fans of bishōjo to “reclaim and reimagine Japanese popular culture”, but more particularly reconfigure this through a Black queer lens, underscoring a central interplay between the “fem(me)” and “hyperfemininity” that quickly breaks its heteronormative and patriarchal bounds to become monstrous – and monstrously powerful in the defiance these ‘mutations’ afford. While Sugary Symbiote enacts defiant monstrousness and mutation in the digital world, Huw Nolan and Jo Coghlan's article “Mutating a Better Man: Robbie Williams, Simian Semiotics, Spectacle, and the Posthuman Celebrity” takes this theme of digital transformation into the realm of contemporary film practices. Nolan and Coghlan argue that Michael Gracey's biographical film Better Man (2024), in which Robbie Williams is represented not in his human form, but rather as a CGI primate, can be read through a posthumanist lens that blurs the boundaries of human identity, oscillating “between authentic human subjectivity and hyperreal digital construct”. Williams, in this article, is interpreted as a “technologically mediated spectacle” which speaks to the “epistemological instability” inherent in contemporary celebrity culture and its dehumanising reliance on constant mutation and transformation. In particular, Nolan and Coghlan argue, the film can be read as “a critical commentary on the increasingly blurred boundaries between human authenticity and technological artifice in our hypermediated era, underscoring celebrity as an ever-evolving, culturally constructed mutation.” Continuing the theme of both technological mutation and the aesthetic choices that represent mutation in film and television, Angelique Nairn’s article “Crafting the Grotesque: Mutation and Imagination in Face Off” examines the reality television series Face Off (2011–2018), in which contestants compete in the design, artistry, and application of special effects (SFX) makeup. The article posits that contestants and – by extension – audiences equate notions of transformation and mutation with deviance, horror, and the grotesque, monstrous, and abject. At the same time as it critiques the implications of such associations and representations of mutation, this article explores the creative freedoms bound up in concepts of monstrosity and biological transformation. All of the previously mentioned articles draw on ideas of mutation as linked to concepts of the body and challenges to its stability as a form or construct, and this theme forms the backbone of Padraic Killeen’s article “Ecology, Materialism, and Transfiguration: An Autopsy of ‘Body Noir’ in David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future”. Exploring the body horror of this 2022 film, Killeen identifies a “body noir” aesthetic guiding the representations of physiological mutations in the film’s post-apocalyptic environment. Killeen describes Cronenberg’s film as a “narrative of transhumanist and evolutionary mutation”, linking these ideas to “post-humanist paranoia, ecological horror, and noir aesthetics”. Such ecological mutations, linked with eco-horror and eco-Gothic, are central to Rhiannon Rumble’s article “Mycological Mutations: What We Can Learn from Mutant Fungi and Fungal Mutants”. This article takes as its focus the proliferation of representations of fungi in popular culture, focussing on fungal mutations in The Girl with All the Gifts (2014) and Cold Storage (2019). It argues that these fictions, in which fungi have mutated to threaten, transform, and take over human bodies, “raise questions about our intersection with, and response to, the nonhuman world”, and particularly its stability as a separate category from the mycological and ecological. Such fungal mutations are easily suggestive of similarly threatening viral mutations. Bruna Emanuela Vaz Quincó and André Vasques Vital’s article “Law, Viral Mutations, and Spectral Tropicality in Tender Is the Flesh (2017) by Agustina Bazterrica” examines Argentine writer Agustina Bazterrica’s novel Tender Is the Flesh (2017), which imagines human society impacted upon by the emergence of a lethal, infectious agent that contaminates animals. It argues that this virus, which is resistant to human attempts to manage it through vaccines and medicines, represents “spectral tropicality”. It analyses the novel’s representations and implied critique of the breakdown of human rights – particularly those of marginalised people – in the face of the horror generated by pandemic mutations that fundamentally challenge established ways of life. Viral mutation, ecological threat, and the porosity and mutability of human bodies also underscore our final article, Rachael Robertson’s “‘In Death, Sacrifice’: The Gothic Mutation of the Blight in the Dragon Age Videogames”. In this fantasy role-playing videogame series, argues Robertson, the Blight is an eco-Gothic threat that infects both land and people. Examining the games’ multiple representations of bodily mutation and category collapse, from the “darkspawn” to the Broodmother and antagonist Ghilan’nain, which are both grotesque, “monstrously mutated” representations of the maternal, Robertson explores how questions of identity, femininity, monstrosity, and the abject are entangled in these games to position the Grey Wardens, who are under threat from the Blight, as in an inexorable state of mutation towards monstrosity. Read together, these articles underscore the eerie relevance of mutation for our world today, whether in its challenges to the stability of identity and bodily autonomy in the face of rapid digital, medical, and technological advancements, or in the viral and fungal mutations of ecological decay and the human collision with the non-human world. Thus what is portrayed as a ‘mutation’ in contemporary popular culture and its media remains a fascinating area for further scholarly pursuits, one that we hope will continue to ‘mutate’ across disciplines well into the future. The editors of this issue would like to sincerely thank M/C Journal, the contributors, and our peer reviewers, for all the time and energy they gave to support the production of this issue.

Los neuroderechos como instrumento de protección del individuo frente a los avances de la neurociencia y neurotecnología: cuando más puede ser peor

2025-06-16

Federico de Montalvo Jääskeläinen | Revista de Derecho Político

El ingente desarrollo de la neurociencia y las neurotecnologías suponen una esperanza para la mejora de la vida y la salud de los individuos. Acceder al cerebro puede permitirnos entender, … El ingente desarrollo de la neurociencia y las neurotecnologías suponen una esperanza para la mejora de la vida y la salud de los individuos. Acceder al cerebro puede permitirnos entender, por ejemplo, cómo se desarrollan determinadas enfermedades neurológicas que actualmente nos disponen de tratamiento curativo alguno. También, las neurotecnologíaspueden permitir reparar o paliar las consecuencias físicas y/o psíquicas de muchas enfermedades y discapacidades. Sin embargo, junto a tales posibles ventajas surgen nuevos riesgos para los derechos y libertades, en especial, para una de las libertades clásicas que por su propia naturaleza ha sido proclamada desde antiguo en los textos constitucionales pero que se ha visto exenta de riesgo: la libertad de pensamiento. Tales riesgos exigen,pues, una respuesta del Derecho y, en el marco de tal debate, se ha planteado como una opción preferente la proclamación de una suerte de nuevos derechos vinculados a la neurociencia y a la neurotecnología que ha recibido desde hace unos años el nombre de neuroderechos. En el presente trabajo abordaremos, esencialmente, si la principal forma de abordar tales riesgos debe ser a través de la creación de nuevos derechos. Pese a su sugerente nombre, ¿realmente necesitamos los neuroderechos?

Exploring Cognitive Enhancers: from neurotherapeutics to ethical and regulatory challenges: a mini review

2025-06-16

Abdulbasit Opeyemi Muili , Adibi Victor Temilola , Oyekunle Olufunmike Itunu +3 more | Annals of Medicine and Surgery

This manuscript provides an outlook on using cognitive enhancers and their ethical implications. Cognitive enhancers, including prescription medications like modafinil and methylphenidate, over-the-counter supplements such as ginseng and caffeine, and … This manuscript provides an outlook on using cognitive enhancers and their ethical implications. Cognitive enhancers, including prescription medications like modafinil and methylphenidate, over-the-counter supplements such as ginseng and caffeine, and novel nootropic agents like gene therapy and stem cell interventions, improve cognitive functions such as memory, focus, and learning. While they have shown efficacy in treating neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), their growing use by healthy individuals raises ethical concerns. This paper addresses the benefits of cognitive enhancers, such as improved academic and professional performance, and the associated risks, including addiction, dependence, and long-term health consequences. It also delves into social and ethical issues, including disparities in access, fairness, coercion in competitive environments, and distinguishing between genuine and substance-enhanced achievements. Additionally, the paper examines current regulations and proposes stronger legal frameworks to address the increasing use of cognitive enhancers. In conclusion, while cognitive enhancers have potential therapeutic benefits, a balanced approach is needed to regulate their use and ensure they are not misused to gain unfair advantages, particularly in non-medical settings.

Regulating Human Enhancement: Things Can Only Get Better?

2025-06-13

Roger Brownsword | Routledge eBooks

From Abstinence to Assistance: Antinatalism's Unexpected Endorsement of the Principle of Procreative Beneficence

2025-06-11

Marcus T. L. Teo | Bioethics

ABSTRACT This essay begins from the point that developments in antinatalism, or the view that it is wrong to bear children, place legitimate pressures on prospective parents to seriously consider … ABSTRACT This essay begins from the point that developments in antinatalism, or the view that it is wrong to bear children, place legitimate pressures on prospective parents to seriously consider the harms of bringing their prospective children into existence. This essay does not defend antinatalism but instead considers an upshot of bioethical import if one takes these antinatalist pressures seriously. Attending to the debate on the normative legitimacy of Savulescu's Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PPB), I argue that antinatalist pressures give rise to reasons that count in favor of the PPB. I show how an antinatalist‐corollary version of the PPB might be derived and how we might respond to the PPB's main criticisms and conceptual difficulties.

Schooling Our Artificial Children

2025-06-03

| The MIT Press eBooks

Our Artificial Children

2025-06-03

| The MIT Press eBooks

The Ethical and Moral Possibilities of Influencing Human Decisions Through Solutions Proposed by Transhumanists: A Perspective on Love and Human Relationships

2025-06-03

Paweł Orzeł | Wrocławski Przegląd Teologiczny.

The transhumanist vision seeks to enhance human decision-making, particularly in romantic relationships, through methods like “love drugs.” This work critically evaluates the transhumanist proposal for using “love drugs” and contrasts … The transhumanist vision seeks to enhance human decision-making, particularly in romantic relationships, through methods like “love drugs.” This work critically evaluates the transhumanist proposal for using “love drugs” and contrasts it with the Thomistic perspective. The assessment draws on the doctrine of St Thomas Aquinas, as presented by Polish Dominican Father Jacek Woroniecki, former rector of the Catholic University of Lublin and professor of moral theology at the Angelicum College. The analysis is structured into four sections. The first section discusses the transhumanist proposal of using “love drug.” The second one offers the Thomistic proposal for analysing the problem of enhancing human love. In the third section, it is the Thomistic questions about purpose in the context of the transhumanist “love drug” that come to the fore. Finally, in the assessment of the transhumanist proposal for enhancing feelings by means of the “love drug” the transhumanist method of technological enhancement is compared to the Thomistic method of educating human emotions, while the better approach to align with human well-being and ethical integrity is evaluated. This study aims to determine whether transhumanist methods align with human well-being and ethical principles or whether the Thomistic approach provides a more fulfilling path toward authentic happiness.