Direct Intervention in the Brain: Ethical Issues Concerning Personal Identity

Journal of Ethics in Mental Health 4:1-7 (2009)
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Abstract

Personal identity has been the focus of philosophical and ethical debate for centuries. During the last decades, dif erent techniques for intervening in the brain, and hence our mind, are being developed and rei ned. Neuromodulation techniques, such as direct stimulation of the brain via implanted electrodes , target the brain’s capacity for reorganization to exert their ef ects and might directly or indirectly inl uence our mental states. In this paper, we investigate whether the possibility of altering our personal identity provides a valid argument against neuromodulation research and treatment for severe, treatment-refractory neurological or neuropsychiatric conditions. Since narrative rather than numerical identity is at stake when considering neuromodulation research and treatment, our paper focuses on narrative identity changes. We argue that arguments against this kind of research and treatment for neuropsychiatric conditions based upon the possibility of narrative identity changes are ethically unconvincing

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