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In the late 1960s, a new field of philosophical and moral enquiry
came into existence. Bioethics, as it soon came to be called, quickly
mushroomed: it developed its own journals, its own professional
associations, its own conferences, degree programs and experts.
It developed very rapidly for many reasons, but no doubt the main
impetus was that it was needed. The problems and puzzles that
bioethics treats were, and are, urgent. Bioethics developed at a
time when medical technology, a kind of technology in which we are
all – quite literally – vitally interested, was undergoing significant
growth and developing unprecedented powers; powers that urgently
needed to be regulated. The growth in life-saving ability, the
development of means of artificial reproduction, the rapid
accumulation of specialist knowledge, required new approaches,
concentrated attention, new focuses and sustained development;
in short, a new discipline. Bioethics was born out of new technical
possibilities – new reproductive technologies, new abilities to
intervene in the genetic substrate of traits, new means of extending
life – and the pressing need to understand, to control and to channel
these possibilities.
Neuroscience has dramatically increased understanding of how mental states and processes are realized by the brain, thus opening doors for treating the multitude of ways in which minds become dysfunctional. This book explores questions such as when is it permissible to alter a person's memories, influence personality traits or read minds? What can neuroscience tell us about free will, self-control, self-deception and the foundations of morality? The view of neuroethics offered here argues that many of our new powers to read ,alter and control minds are not entirely unparalleled with older ones. They have, however, expanded to include almost all our social, political and ethical decisions. Written primarily for graduate students, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in the more philosophical and ethical aspects of the neurosciences. |
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