Retributivism, Justification and Credence: The Epistemic Argument Revisited
AbstractHarming other people is prima facie wrong. Unless we can be very certain that doing so is justified under the circumstances, we ought not to do it. In this paper, I argue that we ought to dismantle harsh retributivist criminal justice systems for this reason; we cannot be sufficiently certain that the harm is justified. Gregg Caruso, Ben Vilhauer and others have previously argued for the same conclusion; however, my own version sidesteps certain controversial premises of theirs. Harsh retributivist criminal justice can only be morally right if the following three propositions are true: Moral responsibility exists, ...
Source: Neuroethics - May 28, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Neurostimulation, doping, and the spirit of sport
AbstractThere is increasing interest in using neuro-stimulation devices to achieve an ergogenic effect in elite athletes. Although the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) does not currently prohibit neuro-stimulation techniques, a number of researchers have called on WADA to consider its position on this issue. Focusing on trans-cranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a case study of an imminent so-called ‘neuro-doping’ intervention, we argue that the emerging evidence suggests that tDCS may meet WADA’s own criteria (pertaining to safety, performance-enhancing effect, and incompatibility with the ‘spirit of spo...
Source: Neuroethics - May 15, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Respect, Punishment and Mandatory Neurointerventions
AbstractThe view that acting morally is ultimately a question of treating others with respect has had a profound influence on moral and legal philosophy. Not surprisingly, then, some scholars forcefully argue that the modes of punishment that the states mete out to offenders should not be disrespectful, and, furthermore, it has been argued that obliging offenders to receive neurological treatment is incompatible with showing them their due respect. In this paper, I examine three contemporary accounts of what showing respect for offenders in our sentencing practices would amount to: that it involves not interfering with off...
Source: Neuroethics - May 6, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Brain-Computer Interfaces and the Translation of Thought into Action
AbstractA brain-computer interface (BCI) designed to restore motor function detects neural activity related to intended movement and thereby enables a person to control an external device, for example, a robotic limb, or even their own body. It would seem legitimate, therefore, to describe a BCI as a system that translates thought into action. This paper argues that present BCI-mediated behavior fails to meet the conditions of intentional physical action as proposed by causal and non-causal theories of action. First, according to the causal theory of action physical actions are bodily movements that are causally related to...
Source: Neuroethics - May 3, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Autism Spectrum Condition, Good and Bad Motives of Offending, and Sentencing
This article aims to clarify how the difficulties affect the moral weight to be given to the good and bad motives of offending in sentencing offenders with ASC. I start by explicating the main points of departure of the endeavor. After that I assess the moral significance of the good a nd bad motives of offenders with ASC in view of four cases and a comparison with how we commonly treat people who are not as able to understand and react to the mental states of others as neurotypical adults. I suggest that considerations pertaining to what has been called the primary orientation of morality provide grounds for deeming the g...
Source: Neuroethics - April 27, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
A Dilemma For Neurodiversity
AbstractOne way to determine whether a mental condition should be considered a disorder is to first give necessary and sufficient conditions for something tobe a disorder and then see if it meets these conditions. But this approach has been criticized for begging normative questions. Concerning autism (and other conditions), aneurodiversity movement has arisen with essentially two aims: (1) advocate for the rights and interests of individuals with autism, and (2) de-pathologize autism. We argue that denying autism ’s disorder status could undermine autism’s exculpatory role in cases where individuals with autism are ch...
Source: Neuroethics - April 1, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Nonconscious Pain, Suffering, and Moral Status
AbstractPain is an unwanted mental state that is often considered a sufficient ground for moral status. However, current science and philosophy of mind suggest that pains, like other perceptual states, might be nonconscious. This raises the questions of whether the notion of nonconscious pain is coherent and what its moral significance might be. In this paper I argue that the existence of nonconscious pain is conceptually coherent; however as a matter of fact our brains might always represent pains consciously. I then characterize the concept of suffering from a naturalistic perspective, distinguishing it from pain. I offe...
Source: Neuroethics - February 4, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Delusion, Proper Function, and Justification
AbstractAmong psychiatric conditions, delusions have received significant attention in the philosophical literature. This is partly due to the fact that many delusions are bizarre, and their contents interesting in and of themselves. But the disproportionate attention is also due to the notion that by studying what happens when perception, cognition, and belief go wrong, we can better understand what happens when these go right. In this paper, I attend to delusions for the second reason —by evaluating the epistemology of delusions, we can better understand the epistemology of ordinary belief. More specifically, given rec...
Source: Neuroethics - January 29, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
How Does Functional Neurodiagnostics Inform Surrogate Decision-Making for Patients with Disorders of Consciousness? A Qualitative Interview Study with Patients ’ Next of Kin
ConclusionWe hypothesize, that a group of next of kin of patients with DOC deals with functional neurodiagnostics results on the basis of the result ’s value and their high hope that the patient will recover meaningfully. A psychological mechanism seems to moderate the impact of functional neurodiagnostics on surrogate treatment decisions. (Source: Neuroethics)
Source: Neuroethics - January 10, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Responsibility, Determinism, and the Objective Stance: Using IAT to Evaluate Strawson ’s Account of our ‘Incompatibilist’ Intuitions
AbstractPeople who judge that a wrongdoer ’s behaviour is determined are disposed, in certain cases, to judge that the wrongdoer cannot be responsible for his behaviour. Some try to explain this phenomenon by arguing that people are intuitive incompatibilists about determinism and moral responsibility. However, Peter Strawson argues that we excuse determined wrongdoers because judging that someone is determined puts us into a psychological state – ‘the objective stance’ – which prevents us from holding them responsible, not because we think that determined wrongdoers cannot be responsible. Two studies were comple...
Source: Neuroethics - January 3, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
How Will Families React to Evidence of Covert Consciousness in Brain-Injured Patients?
AbstractThis commentary critically examines a recent qualitative study, published in this issue of Neuroethics, on the attitudes of family caregivers toward evidence of covert consciousness in brain-injured patients. (Source: Neuroethics)
Source: Neuroethics - January 3, 2020 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Neuroenhancement, the Criminal Justice System, and the Problem of Alienation
AbstractIt has been suggested that neuroenhancements could be used to improve the abilities of criminal justice authorities. Judges could be made more able to make adequately informed and unbiased decisions, for example. Yet, while such a prospect appears appealing, the views of neuroenhanced criminal justice authorities could also be alien to the unenhanced public. This could compromise the legitimacy and functioning of the criminal justice system. In this article, I assess possible solutions to this problem. I maintain that none of them qualifies as a satisfactory general solution to it, a solution that could reasonably ...
Source: Neuroethics - December 22, 2019 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
The (in)Significance of the Addiction Debate
This article contends the belief that the two models in the addiction debate are polar opposites. It shows that it is not the large amount of addiction research in itself what sets the models apart, but rather their extrapolated conclusions. Moreover, some of the most fiercely debated aspects - for instance, whether or not addiction should be classified as a disease or disorder - are irrelevant for the conceptualisation of addiction. Instead, the real disagreement is shown to revolve around capacities. Discussing addiction-related capacities, especially regarding impaired control, rather than the assumed juxtaposition of t...
Source: Neuroethics - December 11, 2019 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
An Instrument to Capture the Phenomenology of Implantable Brain Device Use
AbstractOne important concern regarding implantable Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) is the fear that the intervention will negatively change a patient ’s sense of identity or agency. In particular, there is concern that the user will be psychologically worse-off following treatment despite postoperative functional improvements. Clinical observations from similar implantable brain technologies, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS), show a small b ut significant proportion of patients report feelings of strangeness or difficulty adjusting to a new concept of themselves characterized by a maladaptiveje ne sais quoi despite ...
Source: Neuroethics - November 7, 2019 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
AI Assistants and the Paradox of Internal Automaticity
In conclusion, we make practical recommendations for how to better manage the integration of AI assistants into society. (Source: Neuroethics)
Source: Neuroethics - October 31, 2019 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
