The Biopolitics of Cognitive Enhancement

Abstract

The ongoing discussion regarding the propriety of cognitive enhancement is, at its core, biopolitical. In an attempt to understand the underlying issues, it is instructive to view the subject through the perspectives of those at the extremes – the Transhumanists who enthusiastically support the development of cognitive enhancement and the Bioconservatives who view the enterprise with disapprobation. I argue that many of the positions undertaken by proponents of either view are influenced to a considerable degree by a variety of pre-existing political positions as much as, if not more so than, by deeper philosophical reflection, a phenomenon very much in keeping with Jonathan Haidt’s social intuitionist model of moral reasoning (Haidt, Psychol Rev 108:814–834, 2001). Despite the vocal nature of the extremes, there also exists a broad middle ground which I term The view from reasonableness which is much less of a polemic and more of a conversation. Given that the ultimate outcome rests more on how the populace responds than the views of experts, I suggest that supplementing normative claims driven by biopolitical intuitions with empirical data on public attitudes towards cognitive enhancement might allow us to move beyond polemics to deepen our appreciation of how to move forward.