The Methods of Neuroethics

This Element offers a framework for exploring the methodological challenges of neuroethics. The aim is to provide a roadmap for the methodological assumptions, and related pitfalls, involved in the interdisciplinary investigation of the ethical and legal implications of neuroscientific research and technology. It illustrates these points via the debate about the ethical and legal responsibility of psychopaths. Argument and the conceptual analysis of normative concepts such as 'personhood' or 'human agency' is central to neuroethics. This Element discusses different approaches to establishing norms and principles that regulate the practices addressed by neuroethics and that involve the use of such concepts. How to characterize the psychological features central to neuroethics, such as autonomy, consent, moral understanding, moral motivation, and control is a methodological challenge. In addition, there are epistemic challenges when determining the validity of neuroscientific evidence.

這個元素提供了一個框架，用於探索神經倫理學的方法論挑戰。其目的是提供一個路線圖，以了解跨學科研究神經科學研究和技術的倫理和法律影響所涉及的方法論假設和相關陷阱。它通過關於精神病患者的倫理和法律責任的辯論來說明這些觀點。論證和對規範概念（如“人格”或“人類行為能力”）的概念分析對神經倫理學至關重要。這個元素討論了建立規範和原則的不同方法，以規範神經倫理學所涉及的實踐並涉及這些概念的使用。如何描述神經倫理學的心理特徵，例如自主性、同意、道德理解、道德動機和控制，是一個方法論上的挑戰。此外，在確定神經科學證據的有效性時還存在認識上的挑戰。