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16 • Cyborg Mind
Ethics
Ethics is the study of the values of human conduct and of the rules and prin-
ciples that govern them. It seeks to distinguish what is considered to be good
as well as ways of implementing these rules. Ethical considerations also seek
to investigate the proportionality between the advantages and risks of a cer-
tain procedure, while examining whether it is possible to find an acceptable
balance between the two. Sometimes, of course, it is difficult to define exactly
what is meant by ‘ethics’ and even experts disagree. Generally, however, it
refers to the study of standards of behaviour governed by what is agreed to
be acceptable or correct. In this way, ethics examines and investigates moral
choices, since morality refers more specifically to actual decisions and actions.
Ethical discussions have always been difficult because of the multiple ethi-
cal frameworks that exist, many of which argue from very different precepts
and worldviews. In addition, few people currently adopt just one worldview
while ruling out all other ways of thinking. This means that when facing a
moral dilemma, most people usually pick and mix from the available options.
Because of this, when a committee discusses an ethical dilemma, the issue
often grows bigger with every additional participant. Each person is liable to
have his or her own idea about which ethical approaches should be used at a
given time and reaching a consensus can be well-nigh impossible. But if one
is able to understand the principles underlying each mode of thinking, it is
feasible to look at the outcome and ask questions about what led each person
to that conclusion. This then strengthens the level of intellectual debate and,
in theory at least, supports the development of more robust decisions.
In this regard, much of the so-called ethical debate occurring in modern
media seems to operate at a level of descriptive ethics where stories are
presented about the way in which people live and the choices they make.
Through this, it is possible to gain a sense of where people place personal
moral boundaries. However, the danger with this form of ethical debate is
that it may imply a level of moral authority without actually explaining or
even discerning the basis on which individual judgements are made.
In order to develop a better understanding, it is useful to examine the way
people live, the choices they believe should be made and the values or world-
views they hold dear. From this perspective, it is possible to derive a sense of
what they believe should normally take place. As a result, such ‘normative
ethics’ can have a powerful effect on establishing moral frameworks within
a society.
Like many disciplines, ethical concepts and principles also become more
complex the more they are examined, which then introduces the concept of
‘meta-ethics’. This questions the foundational thinking that is brought to any
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Buch Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics"
Cyborg Mind
What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics
- Titel
- Cyborg Mind
- Untertitel
- What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics
- Autor
- Calum MacKellar
- Verlag
- Berghahn Books
- Datum
- 2019
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-1-78920-015-7
- Abmessungen
- 15.2 x 22.9 cm
- Seiten
- 264
- Schlagwörter
- Singularity, Transhumanism, Body modification, Bioethics
- Kategorie
- Technik
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- Chapter 1. Why Use the Term ‘Cyberneuroethics’? 9
- Chapter 2. Popular Understanding of Neuronal Interfaces 25
- Chapter 3. Presentation of the Brain–Mind Interface 31
- Chapter 4. Neuronal Interface Systems 43
- Developments in Information Technology 44
- Developments in Understanding the Brain 45
- Developments in Neuronal Interfaces 46
- Procedures Involved in Neuronal Interfaces 47
- Output Neuronal Interface Systems: Reading the Brain and Mind 49
- Input Neuronal Interface Systems: Changing the Brain and Mind 57
- Feedback Systems of the Brain and Mind 67
- Ethical Issues Relating to the Technology of Neuronal Interfaces 84
- Chapter 5. Cyberneuroethics 99
- Chapter 6. Neuronal Interfaces and Policy 217
- New Cybercrimes 218
- Policy Concerns 223
- Conclusion 229
- Human Autonomy 232
- Resistance to Such a Development 234
- Risks of Neuronal Interfaces 234
- Appendix. Scottish Council on Human Bioethics Recommendations on
- Cyberneuroethics 239
- Glossary 244
- Index 251