Could Neuroenhancement be an Ethical Approach in Social Practice?

Abstract

Neuroethics is an interdisciplinary field of research aimed at understanding the consciousness and the mind through the relationship between it and the brain's physical support. Among other things, the ethical perspective refers to the acceptability of the practices used to modify human behavior through interventions on the nervous system. Neuroethics research addresses areas such as neuro-imaging techniques, cognitive enhancement and neuro-pharmacology. We will discuss the limits and risks of the neuro-regeneration procedures given by the development of new possible classes and social categories. The article aims to present a theoretical perspective on the possible implications of neuroethics in the practice of social services. The neuroethical approach facilitates a rethinking of the ethical values in the process of ethical evolution of the technologies. The autonomy, a classic concept in bioethics and the post-Kantian traditional ethics, loses its philosophical consistency since any cognitive or ethical enhancement distorts the expressive autonomy and the authentic nature of the moral agency.