States of Mind: Emerging Issues in Neuroethics

In 2001, at the close of the decade designated by presidential proclamation as the ¿Decade of the Brain¿, William Safire coined the phrase ¿neuroethics¿ and, from the platform of his column in the New York Times, announced the need for such a discipline. The proposed States of Mind New Emerging Team fits squarely within this ¿new¿ discipline and aims to address ethical issues of identity, free will and harm/benefit analysis. Of particular interest are the ways in which various neurotechnologies challenge our views about the ethics of personality enhancement, our understanding of morally relevant criteria for personhood, our commitment to agency and privacy, our willingness to tolerate or challenge forced psychiatric treatment, and, finally, our understanding of research risks and our obligation to minimize such risks.