Are we our brains?
How much of our “selves” can be explained by the neurons firing in our gray matter?
For centuries, science has sought clues to the distinctive nature of human beings in the inner workings of the brain. In recent years, though, the pace of neuroscience—the study of how the brain and nervous system work—has picked up speed, and we are on the cusp of potentially culture-changing discoveries about the brain and about human beings.
As neuroscience advances, we face important ethical and philosophical challenges. For example:
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Can brain scans be used to identify or predict
potential criminal behavior? Might they be used to excuse criminal
behavior in court proceedings?
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How will knowledge about the human brain affect marketing of consumer products?
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How might neuroscience affect bedrock cultural concepts of faith and the soul?
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And many questions will prove of particular importance to women, both with respect to biology and in their roles as caregivers. For example:
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Will we discover differences between male and female brains that further cultural stereotypes? | |
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How might neuroscience change what we know about comatose or mentally impaired patients and how they are treated? | |
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How should advances in our understanding of how brains learn be incorporated into our children’s education? |
We also must seek to ensure that male and female subjects are included in neuroscientific research studies and to develop clinical practices tailored to any important gender-specific aspects of brain disease.
Neuroethics is the field of study that seeks to address these issues, and to help us all begin to wrap our brains around the scope of neuroethics, we at the Women’s Bioethics Project have assembled several new podcasts included in our series called "Mind Matters" where we interview experts in this developing field.
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