Brain Organoids and Consciousness: Late Night Musings Inspired by Lewis Thomas

Fins, Joseph J.

doi:10.1017/s0963180121000037

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 19 publications

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“…32 Even an assembloid, where, for example, a cerebral organoid is integrated with a retinal organoid in an attempt to mimic the inputs, outputs, and feedback that comes from being "coupled" to the world with sense organs, would be significantly different from a human person. While systems of organoids might be created to usefully model sensorial inputs and proto-behavioral outputs, without a body, speech organs, a full suite of human-like experiences and behavioral options, cerebral organoids will still differ notably from human persons; 33 this is to say, the kind of beings whose lives we are committed to improving through medical research.…”

Section: Organoid Research Animal Research and Speciesismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cerebral Organoid Research Ethics and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey

McKeown

2023

Camb Q Healthc Ethics

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The risk of creating cerebral organoids/assembloids conscious enough to suffer is a recurrent concern in organoid research ethics. On one hand, we should, apparently, avoid discovering how to distinguish between organoids that it would be permissible (non-conscious) and impermissible (conscious) to use in research, since if successful we would create organoids that suffer. On the other, if we do not, the risk persists that research might inadvertently continue to cause organoids to suffer. Moreover, since modeling some brain disorders may require inducing stress in organoids, it is unclear how to eliminate the risk, if we want to develop effective therapies. We are committed to harm avoidance but hamstrung by a presumption that we should avoid research that might tell us clearly when suffering occurs. How can we negotiate this challenge and maximize the therapeutic benefits of cerebral organoid research? The author interrogates the challenge, suggesting a tentative way forward.

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Section: Organoid Research Animal Research and Speciesismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cerebral Organoid Research Ethics and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey

McKeown

2023

Camb Q Healthc Ethics

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The Many Moral Matters of Organoid Models: A systematic review of reasons

Barnhart

Dierickx

2022

Med Health Care and Philos

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Patentability of Brain Organoids derived from iPSC– A Legal Evaluation with Interdisciplinary Aspects

Wolff

2024

Neuroethics

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Brain Organoids in their current state of development are patentable. Future brain organoids may face some challenges in this regard, which I address in this contribution. Brain organoids unproblematically fulfil the general prerequisites of patentability set forth in Art. 3 (1) EU-Directive 98/44/EC (invention, novelty, inventive step and susceptibility of industrial application). Patentability is excluded if an invention makes use of human embryos or constitutes a stage of the human body in the individual phases of its formation and development. Both do not apply to brain organoids, unless ES-cells are used. Art. 6 (1) EU-Directive 98/44/EC excludes patentability for inventions “the commercial exploitation of which would be contrary to ordre public or morality”. While there is no conceivable scenario, in which the commercial application of current brain organoids violates the ordre public, the same is not necessarily true for future brain organoids. Keeping in mind that a development of consciousness-like abilities in future brain organoids cannot be excluded and that an ability for both physical and psychological suffering has been theorized, both of which are aspects of the ordre public, certain applications of future brain organoids may constitute a violation of the ordre public and therefore lead to an exclusion of patentability.

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Brain Organoids and Consciousness: Late Night Musings Inspired by Lewis Thomas

Cited by 3 publications

References 19 publications

Cerebral Organoid Research Ethics and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey

Cerebral Organoid Research Ethics and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey

The Many Moral Matters of Organoid Models: A systematic review of reasons

Patentability of Brain Organoids derived from iPSC– A Legal Evaluation with Interdisciplinary Aspects

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