Neurobioethics
Scientific developments in neuroscience have generated potentially contentious issues. These developments affect clinical realms of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry. Philosophical issues have both guided such inquiry and are essential to understanding the complex intersection of neuroscientific progress and ethical domains of research, medical practice and the social impact of these enterprises.
These questions are foundational to the ethical issues inherent to progress in basic and clinical applications of neuroscience. Some of these debates include whether particular interventions represent treatment or enhancement, the use or misuse of neurogenetic and neuroimaging data, moral ambiguities surrounding the use of neural allo- and xenotransplantation, and ethical dilemmas arising within the contexts of neuroscientific policy, clinical practice and the scope and tenor of current and future research directions.
The initiative has gathered an international group of professionals and researchers from various specialties that periodically meet and work in research groups, sharing ideas, values, interests and experiences. They will adopt an interdisciplinary approach on the ethics of neuroscience and the neuroscience of ethics.
The group will favor the contrasting views and debate on the matters of greater import, based on a deep analysis and critique of the scientific data. It is essential that they integrate the methodology based on sound philosophical and anthropological principles which is centered on the human person. Different spheres of knowledge and of their applications will be integrated within a global network.
The working group will eventually provide proposals and guidelines through conferences, seminars, and publications, etc. This will stimulate cognitive scientists to seek points of contact between the neurosciences and a philosophical-anthropological vision centered on the human person.
For futher informations about the activities of the Neurobioethics group you can download this pdf file.
A poster summerizing the activities of the first year experience of the group can be found here. Neurobioethics Group Poster at Neuroethics Society meeting
See Oxford Neurosociety conference participation
See Neurobioethics Group's first publication
See Thirteenth Neurobioethics meeting and second Seminar
See XIV Meeting of the Neurobioethics study and research group
See Third Interdisciplinary Seminar of the Neurobioethica Study and Research Group
See Sixteenth Meething and Third Seminar
See Eighteenth Meeting and Fourth Seminar
See Nineteenth Meeting and Fifth Seminar
See articles by Alberto Carrara
See article by Michael Baggot
Check the Italian Neurobioetica website
Il Giornale di Bioetica
L’applicazione all’uomo delle recenti scoperte nelle Neuroscienze e delle ricerche che si propongono di svelare i segreti del cervello e della mente, suscita emozioni contrastanti. Infatti, se da un lato rimaniamo affascinati dalle molteplici possibilità che questi studi ci offrono e dalle loro prospettive, sia per le terapie mediche, sia per il miglioramento della qualità della vita, dall’altro siamo intimoriti dagli eventuali rischi per la salute, e dagli interrogativi etici di complessa soluzione.
Il gruppo di studio e di ricerca sulla Neurobioetica, intesa come settore specializzato della Bioetica, costituitosi recentemente presso l’Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum, si propone di affrontare le nuove questioni etiche sollevate dalle moderne Neuroscienze e le loro implicazioni sociali, e giuridiche, sulla base di un’analisi approfondita e critica delle loro basi scientifiche. Read more
