Introduction on the subject
It is nowadays possible to study the living brain at a level of detail which was unthinkable as recently as 25 years ago. On top of this, technologies aimed at modifying (influencing, treating or enhancing) the brain ā ranging from neuropharmacology to neuroengineering ā are becoming more and more powerful. These developments give rise to numerous ethical and legal problems. As a result, the relatively new field of neuroethics is currently undergoing an explosive growth.
Some issues discussed in neuroethics are special cases of problems which are familiar from traditional medical ethics. However, not all of neuroethics is continuous with traditional medical ethics. The reason for this is that the brain is a very special organ. Researchers nowadays assume that all mental activity is correlated with brain activity. As a result, knowledge of brain functioning comes dangerously close to knowledge of the most intimate and private parts of the mind, and control over brain activity may be regarded as the ultimate form of control over our inner lives.
Brain science outside the health care system
It is especially the use of brain science outside the health care system that gives rise to ethical concerns and legal problems. For example, in neuroeconomics, researchers try to understand the brain mechanisms that cause economic decisions. This becomes problematic when neuromarketeers try to identify the ābuy-buttonā and start looking for ways to manipulate it. Similarly, law enforcement agencies are interested in brain-based lie-detection, arguing that āthe brain does not lieā. It is hard to think of a more drastic breach of privacy. For example, in the foreseeable future, psychological tests may be replaced by, or at least supplemented with, brain imaging evidence for recruitment purposes ā such developments might well be regarded as undesirable. This is not to say that all applications of neuroscience for non-medical purposes are undesirable. The current ābrain-based learning approachā in education, for example, is widely perceived as welcome and defensible.
Modifying, treating or enhancing the functioning of the brain
The development of technology to modify (treat or enhance) the functioning of the brain raises a whole host of additional issues. Neuropharmacology is making progress, but the effects are often controversial: there is, for example, a debate going on about ADHD and Ritalin. Neuroengineering generates anxiety when, for example, one reads about military applications to improve the behavior of pilots and soldiers in the field.
Legal aspects of brain science
The discussion about the use of brain science outside the health care system is also gaining prominence in legal circles. In the USA, several criminal court cases have already taken place in which the defense adduced medical findings (e.g., the presence of a brain tumor) to obtain reduction of sentence or even acquittal. Such cases will become more frequent as time goes on. But is not yet clear to what extent neuroscientific evidence should be counted as relevant for legal purposes. Both neuroethics and the debate about the challenges which the progress of neuroscience poses to the law are currently more advanced in the USA and in the United Kingdom than on the European continent. Yet the conclusions reached abroad cannot automatically be applied domestically. Almost no work has thus far been carried out in the Netherlands.
About the research project
The present research project is based on the assumption that the debate about neuroethics and the relevance of neuroscience for the law would greatly benefit from greater attention to conceptual issues. The project is therefore largely aimed at conceptual analysis and clarification. The problem is basically the following: in the debate about neuroscience, ethics and the law, we see a mixture of two languages: the language of neuroscience and ordinary language, which is continuous with the language of the law. These languages cannot straightforwardly be translated into each other. Yet in the debate about neuroscience, ethics and the law, both are used and somehow have to be matched.
For practical purposes, the project is divided into two sub-projects: (1) conceptual and related issues in neuroscience and neuroethics, and (2) conceptual issues in the field of the brain and the law, with reference to the results obtained in sub-project (1) and with special attention to the Dutch legal system and legal framework, where relevant and appropriate. In addition to this, an introduction to the philosophy of mind for neuroscientists and other non-philosophers is planned.
In 2007, as part of the project, a conference on the ethics of neuroimaging was organized.
Funding
The project has been funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).
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Research partners
The project is executed by members of the 3TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology, together with Prof. Mr. Dr. H. Stout, Section of Law & Technology (Faculty of Technology, Policy & Management, Delft University of Technology).