Neuroethics

Abstract

Is free will an illusion? Is addiction a brain disease? Can neuroscience be trusted to read the minds of criminals and consumers? Neuroethics answers these and other ethical questions raised by brain science through captivating cases, philosophical analysis, and scientific evidence. The book covers core topics such as free will, addiction, mental illness, brain manipulation, moral enhancement, brain images as legal evidence, the reliability of moral intuitions, and even misconduct in neuroscience. By soberly scrutinizing the science and avoiding alarmist reactions, a “nuanced neuroethics” is developed that reconceives human agency as less conscious and reliable but more diverse and flexible than we ordinarily think. A central lesson for medicine, law, ethics, cognitive science, and public policy is that disordered and neurotypical minds are more alike than they are unalike.