In Defense of Pharmaceutically Enhancing Human Morality

Protopapadakis, Evangelos D.

doi:10.1016/j.curtheres.2017.01.004

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Describing the brain as a biological system governed by natural laws makes determinism overwhelmingly relevant to neuroscientific evidence. Determinism abolishes the "option to do otherwise," a condition inextricable in the description of free will (Protopapadakis 2017). Free will depends on non-determinism.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of Neuroplasticity to the Philosophical Debate of Free Will and Determinism

Kormas

Moutzouri

Protopapadakis

2022

Handbook of Computational Neurodegeneration

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of Neuroplasticity to the Philosophical Debate of Free Will and Determinism

Kormas

Moutzouri

Protopapadakis

2022

Handbook of Computational Neurodegeneration

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“…8 Again, it is easy to see how we might think these sorts of experiences would facilitate moral behaviour; such experiences can help to foster pro-social behaviour (e.g., compassion, social concern), and they either preclude or might serve to diminish (e.g., in the case of egodissolution) certain kinds of behaviours (e.g., rage, aggression, selfishness) that undermine cooperation and well-being. Further, there is a clear overlap here between the experience-and attitude-types facilitated by psychedelics and the broad aims of moral enhancement advocates like Persson and Savulescu [1,2], Protopapadakis [30] and Crutchfield [31] -including and especially the promotion of compassion and the minimisation of selfish (non-cooperative) behaviour. For present purposes, I will assume that psychedelic moral enhancement would reliably have the outcomes described.…”

Section: Psychedelics As Indirect and Adjunctive Moral Enhancersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trust and Psychedelic Moral Enhancement

Gordon

2022

Neuroethics

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Moral enhancement proposals struggle to be both plausible and ethically defensible while nevertheless interestingly distinct from both cognitive enhancement as well as (mere) moral education. Brian Earp (Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 83:415–439, 12) suggests that a promising middle ground lies in focusing on the (suitably qualified) use of psychedelics as adjuncts to moral development. But what would such an adjunctive use of psychedelics look like in practice? In this paper, I draw on literature from three areas where techniques for moral development have been discussed: psychotherapy (e.g., Overholser 2010; Burns 1980) education (e.g., Uhl and Lütge, 2018), and AI-assisted enhancement (e.g., Lara and Deckers, Neuroethics 13(3):275–287, 17) in order to propose more concrete ways in which to use psychedelics as adjuncts to moral development. It is shown that in each of these areas, we can see that trusting relationships (e.g., Baier 1986; Hawley 2019) between the facilitator and the agent will very plausibly maximize the success of this type of moral enhancement. Finally, I appeal to literature on informed consent for use of psychedelics (e.g., Smith and Sisti, Journal of Medical Ethics, 22; Johnson et al., The Journal of Psychopharmacology 22(6):603–20, 23) and on the therapeutic relationship in psychotherapy (e.g., Dryden and Reeves 2013; Horvath et al. 2011) to outline concrete suggestions for facilitating dimensions of trust most likely to maximize the benefits of (adjunctive) psychedelic moral enhancement. The result is a newly detailed practical proposal for how we might best facilitate moral enhancement by using drugs as adjuncts to moral development

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“…Sparrow [24] claims that the enhancers will be wielding power over the enhanced. For the discussion on autonomy and MBE, see Protopapadakis [48].…”

Section: Factor 2-fear Of Changementioning

confidence: 99%

What drives public attitudes towards moral bioenhancement and why it matters: an exploratory study

2021

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The paper represents an empirical study of public attitudes towards moral bioenhancement. Moral bioenhancement implies the improvement of moral dispositions, i.e. an increase in the moral value of the actions or character of a moral agent. The views of bioethicists and scientists on this topic are present in the ongoing debate, but not the view of the public in general. In order to bridge the gap between the philosophical debate and the view of the public, we have examined attitudes towards moral bioenhancement. The participants were people from Serbia older than 15, who voluntarily completed an online questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of a brief introduction to moral bioenhancement, seven general questions, 25 statements about participants’ attitudes towards moral bioenhancement, and five examples of moral dilemmas. The questionnaire also included questions which were used to reveal their preference of either deontology, or utilitarianism. Participants were asked to what degree they agree or disagree with the statements. The results showed that the means used to achieve moral enhancement, the level of education, and preference for deontology or utilitarianism do have an impact on public attitudes. Using exploratory factor analysis, we isolated four factors that appear to drive the respondents' attitudes toward moral bioenhancement, we named: general—closeness, fear of change, security, and voluntariness. Each factor in relationship to other variables offers new insights that can inform policies and give us a deeper understanding of the public attitudes. We argue that looking into different facets of attitudes towards moral bioenhancement improves the debate, and expands it.

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In Defense of Pharmaceutically Enhancing Human Morality

Cited by 5 publications

References 15 publications

Implications of Neuroplasticity to the Philosophical Debate of Free Will and Determinism

Implications of Neuroplasticity to the Philosophical Debate of Free Will and Determinism

Trust and Psychedelic Moral Enhancement

What drives public attitudes towards moral bioenhancement and why it matters: an exploratory study

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