Social, Legal, and Ethical Implications of Cognitive Neuroscience: “Neuroethics” for Short

Abstract

For most of its history, cognitive neuroscience has been a branch of basic science. The principal goal of cognitive neuroscience has been to understand the neural bases of mental phenomena. Its occasional forays out of the ivory-tower research laboratory, into the ‘‘real world,’’ have generally been into education or its clinical cousin, rehabilitation. Such work rarely raises social, ethical, or legal concerns. As our science has matured, its potential for broader application has grown. Better theories of mind–brain relations, coupled with increasingly powerful methods for measuring and manipulating brain function, have made possible a much wider range of applications. These applications will undoubtedly have both good and bad consequences for individuals and society. A growing number of neuroscientists and bioethicists, joined by social scientists, engineers, philosophers, and legal scholars, have begun to think about these consequences. The result is a new field, called by many of its participants neuroethics. Some neuroethical issues are already familiar, having