Tags: neuroethics
Blog Posts (24)
Apr 12, 2012
The Most Interesting Neuroethicist and Philosopher You've Never Met.
The Atlantic calls him “a Timothy Leary for the Viral Video age.” Jason Silva is a self-proclaimed “performance philosopher” who presents novel ideas and even more cutting-edge messaging about biotechnology, neuroscience and bioethics.…
Mar 23, 2011
Paul Root Wolpe Talks @ TED
According to AJOB Neuroscience Editor, Paul Root Wolpe, it’s time to question the bioengineering of animals, our brains and more. Check it out.…
Aug 31, 2010
Want to Feel Morally Superior? Use Purell.
We have all heard the adage “cleanliness is godliness”, but according to a new study reported in Wired, cleanliness also translates into moral superiority.…
Dec 11, 2009
Come One, Come All--To Neuroscience Boot Camp!
Our colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania are having another “Neuroscience Boot Camp“. To learn more, read below or click the link above.…
Oct 06, 2009
Nonsense. It's Good For You.
Who knew that “The Ministry of Silly Walks” and other such absurdities could actually strengthen our brains? Yes, it’s true.…
Sep 09, 2009
I Forgot (Sort Of)
As it turns out, many of the things we think we forget are memories actually stored somewhere in our brains as memories we simply cannot access, say neuroscientists who have recently published a paper in Nature.…
Feb 24, 2009
DBS for OCD? OMG!
As I read on the Triage health blog at the Chicago Tribune, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been approved by the FDA as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).…
Jan 12, 2009
January 2009 Issue of AJOB Now Available at Bioethics.net
The first AJOB Neuroscience issue of 2009 is now available at bioethics.net. This issue contains a Target Article by researchers from Dalhousie University who are exploring the ethical issues associated with non-clinical uses of pediatric fMRI, particularly in as it related to the educational system and legal settings.…
Jan 06, 2009
Wolpe on "60 Minutes": Reading Minds for Cookies and Car Accidents
If you missed it this Sunday, as our own Dr. Paul Wolpe himself did for being in an airplane, you can catch it again here–the 13-minute segment from this past Sunday’s “60 Minutes” where neuroethics is the focus.…
Jan 06, 2009
Thrill Seeking Brains and the People Who Have Them
Researchers from Vanderbilt University have found that some brains process dopamine differently resulting in greater “thrill seeking” behavior, says BBC News.…
Published Articles (77)
AJOB Neuroscience: Volume 1 Issue 1 - Jan 2010
Disbelief and Self-Deception in Conversion Disorder Richard A. Kanaan
AJOB Neuroscience: Volume 1 Issue 1 - Jan 2010
Review of Martin Lindstrom, Buyology Dawn N. Albertson
AJOB Neuroscience: Volume 1 Issue 1 - Jan 2010
Review of Nancey Murphy and Warren S. Brown, Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will Teneille Brown
AJOB Neuroscience: Volume 1 Issue 1 - Jan 2010
Hysteria and the Varieties of Deception Richard A. Kanaan
AJOB Neuroscience: Volume 1 Issue 1 - Jan 2010
Negotiating the Relationship Between Addiction, Ethics, and Brain Science Daniel Z. Buchman, Wayne Skinner & Judy Illes
AJOB Neuroscience: Volume 1 Issue 1 - Jan 2010
Neuroenhancement in Young People: Proposal for Research, Policy, and Clinical Management Ilina Singh & Kelly J. Kelleher
AJOB Neuroscience: Volume 1 Issue 1 - Jan 2010
Welcome to the New, Independent, AJOB Neuroscience Paul Root Wolpe
AJOB Neuroscience: Volume 1 Issue 2 - Apr 2010
Neuroconcerns: Some Responses to My Critics Jonathan H. Marks
AJOB Neuroscience: Volume 1 Issue 2 - Apr 2010
Review of James Cameron's Avatar Paul Root Wolpe
AJOB Neuroscience: Volume 1 Issue 2 - Apr 2010
Paul Root Wolpe Interviewing John Moreno
News (11)
May 20, 2012
Could We Trust Killer Robots? (Wall Street Journal)
Could a machine ever be capable of making the practical and ethical decisions demanded of American troops in the field? Dr. Arkin thinks so. In fact, his work has been motivated in large part by his concerns about the failures of human decision-makers in the heat of battle, especially in attacking targets that aren’t a threat. The robots “will not have the full moral reasoning capabilities of humans,” he explains, “but I believe they can—and this is a hypothesis—perform better than humans.”
May 17, 2012
“The Self” in the Future: Will it be Extinguished, by Neuroscience? (Institute for Emerging Ethics & Technologies)
Will “the self” survive because it can provide people with a greater sense of happiness? Or is it – perhaps along with the constructs “Free Will” and “Determinism” – doomed to the dustbin of history? Should cyborgs, avatars, and a rewired human brain be developed with a stronger or weaker sense of self? An interview with Dr. Garret Merriam, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University of Southern Indiana.
May 10, 2012
Neurononsense: Why brain sciences can't explain the human condition (ABC News)
The new sciences in fact have a tendency to divide neatly into two parts. On the one hand there is an analysis of some feature of our mental or social life and an attempt to show its importance and the principles of its organisation. On the other hand, there is a set of brain scans. Every now and then there is a cry of “Eureka!” – for example, when Joshua Greene showed that dilemmas involving personal confrontation arouse different brain areas from those aroused by detached moral calculations. But since Greene gave no coherent description of the question, to which the datum was supposed to suggest an answer, the cry dwindled into silence.
Apr 12, 2012
Awake or Knocked Out? The Line Gets Blurrier (New York Times)
The puzzle of consciousness is so devilish that scientists and philosophers are still struggling with how to talk about it, let alone figure out what it is and where it comes from.
Apr 11, 2012
Advancing Health and Robotics (US News)
Center researchers are studying neural systems and their relationship to motor commands, a connection that potentially could benefit the aging, those suffering from neurological disorders, or who have lost limbs in battle or other trauma, or from diseases. . . They also are studying important related emotional, cultural, ethical and psychological issues associated with limb loss, and enlisting the input of experts, for example, Judy Illes, a neurology professor at the University of British Columbia, who specializes in neuroethics.
Apr 03, 2012
This Is Your Brain on the Department of Defense (Mother Jones)
Science and the military have historically made creepy bedfellows, with military curiosity about neuroscience leading the pack. Yet it’s no secret that since the early 1950s, the US military has had a vested interest in harnessing cutting-edge developments in neuroscience to get a leg up on national defense (a la well-publicized failures like Project MK-ULTRA).
Mar 23, 2012
Scientists Warn of Ethical Battle Concerning Military Mind Control (U.S. News)
A future of brain-controlled tanks, automated attack drones and mind-reading interrogation techniques may arrive sooner than later, but advances in neuroscience that will usher in a new era of combat come with tough ethical implications for both the military and scientists responsible for the technology, according to one of the country’s leading bioethicists.
Mar 21, 2012
The Dark Side of Military-Funded Neuroscience (ABC News)
By unlocking the mysteries of the mind, neuroscientists have opened the door to revolutionary technology — technology the American military hopes to harness. From keeping troops more alert during exhausting missions to engineering intelligent drones, some experts argue brain research has changed the battlefield. ”There’s a tremendous amount of research going on around almost every aspect of the brain you can think of,” said Jonathan Moreno, professor of bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Mind Wars.” “How much of this is related to national security and counterintelligence? It turns out to be quite a lot.”
Mar 10, 2012
Why It's OK to Let Apps Make You a Better Person (The Atlantic)
Evan Selinger considers the ramifications of using apps to improve our habits. And also whether willpower as we normally think about it even exists. #bioethics #neuroethics #brain #philosophy
Mar 01, 2012
Super-human brain technology sparks ethics debate (Chicago Tribune)
A British ethics group has launched a debate on the ethical dilemmas posed by new technologies that tap into the brain and could bring super-human strength, highly enhanced concentration or thought-controlled weaponry. #bioethics