Cognitive Enhancement: Ethical and Policy Implications in International Perspectives

There is a growing literature in neuroethics dealing with cognitive neuroenhancement for healthy adults. However, discussions on this topic tend to focus on abstract theoretical positions while concrete policy proposals and detailed models are scarce. Furthermore, discussions appear to rely solely on data from the United States or United Kingdom, and international perspectives are mostly nonexistent. This volume fills this gap and addresses issues on cognitive enhancement comprehensively in three important ways: (1) it examines the conceptual implications stemming from competing points of view about the nature and goals of enhancement; (2) it addresses the ethical, social, and legal implications of neuroenhancement from an international and global perspective including contributions from scholars in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America; and (3) it discusses and analyzes concrete legal issues and policy options tailored to specific contexts. Part 1 focuses on conceptual issues arising from the use of cognitive neuroenhancement technologies in the social milieu and clinical context. Part 2 provides analysis from an international perspective. This section addresses normative issues and cultural values, along with an analysis of empirical data on public attitudes on cognitive enhancement and/or prevalence. Part 3 examines the regulatory options available to policy-makers to allow a responsible use of cognitive enhancement and current issues at the intersection between law and cognitive enhancement