Scientific and Philosophical Perspectives in Neuroethics

Front Cover
James J. Giordano, Bert Gordijn
Cambridge University Press, Feb 18, 2010 - Medical
While neuroscience has provided insights into the structure and function of nervous systems, hard questions remain about the nature of consciousness, mind, and self. Perhaps the most difficult questions involve the meaning of neuroscientific information, and how to pursue and utilize neuroscientific knowledge in ways that are consistent with some construal of social 'good'. Written for researchers and graduate students in neuroscience and bioethics, Scientific and Philosophical Perspectives in Neuroethics explores important developments in neuroscience and neurotechnology, and addresses the philosophical, ethical, and social issues and problems that such advancements generate. It examines three core questions. First, what is the scope and direction of neuroscientific inquiry? Second, how has progress to date affected scientific and philosophical ideas, and finally, what ethical issues and problems does this progress and knowledge incur, both now and in the future?
 

Contents

1 Developments in neuroscience Where have we been where are we going?
1
2 The origins of the modern concept of neuroscience Wilhelm Wundt between empiricism and idealism implications for contemporary neuroethics
37
3 On the cusp The hard problem of neuroscience and its practical implications
66
4 The mindbody issue
95
5 Personal identity and the nature of the self
117
6 Religious issues and the question of moral autonomy
134
7 Toward a cognitive neurobiology of the moral virtues
146
8 From a neurophilosophy of pain to a neuroethics of pain care
172
12 Can we read minds? Ethical challenges and responsibilities in the use of neuroimaging research
244
13 Possibilities limits and implications of braincomputer interfacing technologies
271
14 Neural engineering The ethical challenges ahead
283
15 Neurotechnology as a public good Probity policy and how to get there from here
302
16 Globalization pluralist concerns and contexts Shaping international policy in neuroethics
321
17 The human condition and strivings to flourish Treatments enhancements science and society
343
18 The limits of neurotalk
355
Afterword
370

9 Transplantation and xenotransplantation Ethics of cell therapy in the brain revisited
190
10 Neurogenetics and ethics How scientific frameworks can better inform ethics
216
11 Neuroimaging Thinking in pictures
230

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About the author (2010)

James J. Giordano is Rockefeller Professor of Medicine and Neurosciences, and Senior Scholar, Program in Ethics and Systems' Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC. He is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Neurotechnology Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in Virginia, and is one of nine American Academy of Pain Medicine National Visiting Professors. Professor Giordano is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine and Associate Editor for the international journal Neuroethics.

Bert Gordijn is Chair of Ethics and Director of the Institute of Ethics at Dublin City University. He has been appointed to the External Science Advisory Panel to the European Chemical Industry Council and served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Patent Organization, as well as the UNESCO Expert Committee on Ethics and Nanotechnology. Bert is also Secretary of the European Society for Philosophy of Medicine and Healthcare.

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