Oxford Handbook of Neuroethics
Edited by Judy Illes and Barbara J. Sahakian
Abstract
The past two decades have seen unparalleled developments in our knowledge of the brain and mind. However, these advances have forced us to confront head-on some significant ethical issues regarding our application of this information in the real world—whether using brain images to establish guilt within a court of law, or developing drugs to enhance cognition. Historically, any consideration of the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies in science and medicine has lagged behind the discovery of the technology itself. These delays have caused problems in the acceptability and potential applications of biomedical advances and posed significant problems for the scientific community and the public alike—for example in the case of genetic screening and human cloning. The field of neuroethics aims to proactively anticipate ethical, legal, and social issues at the intersection of neuroscience and ethics, raising questions about what the brain tells us about ourselves, whether the information is what people want or ought to know, and how best to communicate it. The Oxford Handbook of Neuroethics presents a pioneering review of a topic central to the sciences and humanities. It presents a range of articles considering key issues, discussion, and debate at the intersection of brain and ethics. The book focuses on and provides a platform for dialogue of what neuroscience can do, what we might expect neuroscience will do, and what neuroscience ought to do. The major themes include: consciousness and intention; responsibility and determinism; mind and body; neurotechnology; ageing and dementia; law and public policy; and science, society and international perspectives.
Keywords:
brain,
mind,
genetic screening,
human cloning,
brain and ethics,
neuroscience,
consciousness,
intention,
responsibility,
determinism,
mind and body,
neurotechnology,
ageing,
dementia,
law,
public policy
Bibliographic Information
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- Print Publication Date:
- Apr 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199570706
- Published online:
- Nov 2012
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199570706.001.0001
Editors
Judy Illes,
editor
Judy Illes is the Canada Research Chair in Neuroethics and Professor of Neurology at the University of British Columbia, Canada. She also holds academic appointments as Adjunct Professor in the School of Population and Public Health, School of Journalism, and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. She is a co-founder and Executive Committee Member of the Neuroethics Society, a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and is past Chair of the Committee on Women in World Neuroscience of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO).
Barbara J. Sahakian,
editor
Barbara J. Sahakian is Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge, Department of Psychiatry, and the Medical Research Council/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute. She is co-inventor of the CANTAB neuropsychological tests, which are in use world-wide. She is also a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, a practicing clinical psychologist, president-elect of the British Association for Psychopharmacology, a member of the CINP council, and a founder and Executive Board member of the Neuroethics Society.
