•  1535
    Dickie’s Institutional Theory And The “Openness” Of The Concept Of Art
    Postgraduate Journal of Aesthetics 3 (3): 110-117. 2006.
    In this paper, I will look at the relationship between Weitz’s claim that art is an “open” concept and Dickie’s institutional theory of art, in its most recent form. Dickie’s theory has been extensively discussed, and often criticized, in the literature on aesthetics, yet it has rarely been observed – to my knowledge at least – that the fact that his theory actually incorporates, at least to some extent, Weitz’s claim about the “openness” of the concept of art, precisely accounts for what I take…Read more
  •  829
    Neuroenhancement
    Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online. 2020.
    Entry on "Neuroenhancement" in the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online.
  •  497
    Neuroenhancement, Coercion, and Neo-Luddism
    In Nicole A. Vincent, Thomas Nadelhoffer & Allan McCay (eds.), Neurointerventions and the Law: Regulating Human Mental Capacity, Oxford University Press, Usa. pp. 375-405. 2020.
    This chapter addresses the claim that, as new types of neurointervention get developed allowing us to enhance various aspects of our mental functioning, we should work to prevent the use of such interventions from ever becoming the “new normal,” that is, a practice expected—even if not directly required—by employers. The author’s response to that claim is that, unlike compulsion or most cases of direct coercion, indirect coercion to use such neurointerventions is, per se, no more problematic tha…Read more
  •  465
    What proper role should considerations of risk, particularly to research subjects, play when it comes to conducting research on human enhancement in the military context? We introduce the currently visible military enhancement techniques (1) and the standard discussion of risk for these (2), in particular what we refer to as the ‘Assumption’, which states that the demands for risk-avoidance are higher for enhancement than for therapy. We challenge the Assumption through the introduction of three…Read more
  •  430
    Optogenetic Memory Modification and the Many Facets of Authenticity
    American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 12 (1): 40-42. 2021.
    Open Peer Commentary on P. Zawadzki and A. K. Adamczyk's target article in AJOB Neuroscience on the potential of optogenetics for memory modification. I argue for a radically pluralistic understanding of the notion of authenticity, and highlight the need to further clarify the specific nature of the authors' concern about authenticity, as well as its policy implications.
  •  400
    Neuro-Doping and the Value of Effort in Endurance Sports
    Neuroethics (Suppl 2): 1-13. 2020.
    The enhancement of athletic performance using procedures that increase physical ability, such as anabolic steroids, is a familiar phenomenon. Yet recent years have also witnessed the rise of direct interventions into the brain, referred to as “neuro-doping”, that promise to also enhance sports performance. This paper discusses one potential objection to neuro-doping, based on the contribution to athletic achievement, particularly within endurance sports, of effortfully overcoming inner challenge…Read more
  •  320
    Authenticity
    In Bruce Jennings (ed.), Bioethics (4th edition). 2014.
    Entry on "Authenticity" for the fourth edition of the Encyclopedia of Bioethics, edited by Bruce Jennings. Discusses the concept in the context of end-of-life decision-making, human enhancement, and the treatment of mental disorder.
  •  314
    This paper offers an overview of the prospects and ethics of using AI to achieve human enhancement, and more broadly what we call intellectual augmentation (IA). After explaining the central notions of human enhancement, IA, and AI, we discuss the state of the art in terms of the main technologies for IA, with or without brain-computer interfaces. Given this picture, we discuss potential ethical problems, namely inadequate performance, safety, coercion and manipulation, privacy, cognitive libert…Read more
  •  255
    Ethical perspectives on advances in biogerontology
    with Jean Woo, David Archard, Derrick Au, Sara Bergstresser, Alexandre Erler, Timothy Kwok, John Newman, Raymond Tong, and Tom Walker
    Aging Medicine 2 (2): 99-103. 2019.
    Worldwide populations are aging with economic development as a result of public health initiatives and advances in therapeutic discoveries. Since 1850, life expectancy has advanced by 1 year for every four. Accompanying this change is the rapid development of anti‐aging science. There are three schools of thought in the field of aging science. One perspective is the life course approach, which considers that aging is a good and natural process to be embraced as a necessary and positive aspect of…Read more
  •  216
    L'authenticité
    In Julien A. Deonna & Emma Tieffenbach (eds.), Petit Traité des Valeurs, Edition D’ithaque. pp. 40-49. 2018.
  •  209
    Does Memory Modification Threaten Our Authenticity?
    Neuroethics 4 (3): 235-249. 2010.
    One objection to enhancement technologies is that they might lead us to live inauthentic lives. Memory modification technologies (MMTs) raise this worry in a particularly acute manner. In this paper I describe four scenarios where the use of MMTs might be said to lead to an inauthentic life. I then undertake to justify that judgment. I review the main existing accounts of authenticity, and present my own version of what I call a “true self” account (intended as a complement, rather than a substi…Read more
  •  148
    The potential of using personalized Large Language Models (LLMs) or “generative AI” (GenAI) to enhance productivity in academic research, as highlighted by Porsdam Mann and colleagues (Porsdam Mann...
  •  135
    Mental Disorder and the Concept of Authenticity
    with Tony Hope
    Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology 21 (3): 219-232. 2014.
    Authenticity has recently emerged as an important issue in discussions of mental disorder. We show, on the basis of personal accounts and empirical studies, that many people with psychological disorders are preoccupied with questions of authenticity. Most of the data considered in this paper are from studies of people with bipolar disorder and anorexia nervosa. We distinguish the various ways in which these people view the relationship between the disorder and their sense of their authentic self…Read more
  •  74
    One Man's Authenticity is Another Man's Betrayal: A Reply to Levy
    Journal of Applied Philosophy 29 (3): 257-265. 2012.
    This article responds to Neil Levy's recent suggestion that: (1) the use of pharmaceutical enhancers can be understood as promoting our authenticity, no matter which of the two main contemporary conceptions of authenticity we adopt; and that (2) we do not need to decide between these two rival models (the ‘self-discovery’ and the ‘self-creation’ conception) in order to assess the common worry that enhancements will undermine our authenticity. Levy's core argument is based on a comparison between…Read more
  •  55
    Many believe that the treatment-enhancement distinction marks an important ethical boundary that we should use to shape public policy on biomedical interventions. A common justification for this purported normative force appeals to the idea that, whereas treatments respond to genuine medical needs, enhancements can only satisfy mere preferences or “expensive tastes”. This article offers a critique of that justification, while still accepting the TED as a conceptual tool, as well as some of the k…Read more
  •  54
    AI Successors Worth Creating? Commentary on Lavazza & Vilaça
    Philosophy and Technology 37 (1): 1-5. 2024.
    This is a commentary on Andrea Lavazza and Murilo Vilaça's article "Human Extinction and AI: What We Can Learn from the Ultimate Threat" (Lavazza & Vilaça, 2024). I discuss the potential concern that their proposal to create artificial successors to "insure" against the tragedy of human extinction might mean being too quick to accept that catastrophic prospect as inevitable, rather than single-mindedly focusing on avoiding it. I also consider the question of the value that we might reasonably as…Read more
  •  44
    Mapping the Ethical Issues of Brain Organoid Research and Application
    with Tsutomu Sawai, Yoshiyuki Hayashi, Takuya Niikawa, Joshua Shepherd, Elizabeth Thomas, Tsung-Ling Lee, Momoko Watanabe, and Hideya Sakaguchi
    American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 13 (2): 81-94. 2022.
  •  33
    This commentary further explores some of the ethical issues raised by Prof. Peter Singer in his Lanson Lecture “Pandemic Ethics: Five Lessons”. In the first part, I distinguish a prioritarian approach to the allocation of scarce medical resources, from the utilitarian one advocated by Singer. I suggest that the prioritarian view better matches common intuitions about fair distribution, even though it likely needs to be balanced with other principles if it is to have plausibility in contexts like…Read more
  •  31
    ADHD and stimulant drug treatment: what can the children teach us?
    Journal of Medical Ethics 39 (6): 357-358. 2013.
    The treatment of children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder with stimulant drugs has been a subject of controversy for many years, both within and outside bioethics, and the controversy is still very much alive. In her feature article , Ilina Singh, a major contributor to that debate in recent years, brings fresh empirical evidence to bear on it. She uses new data to deal with two key ethical concerns that have been raised about the practice. First, does medicating children…Read more
  •  27
    Academic Performance Enhancers and the Goals of a University Education
    American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 6 (1): 24-26. 2015.
  •  25
    Self-Discovery or Self-Creation: The Dilemma Cannot Be Avoided
    with Tony Hope
    Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology 21 (3): 241-242. 2014.
    This article briefly replies to commentaries by Ilina Singh and Peter Lucas on our original piece titled "Mental Disorder and the Concept of Authenticity". In response to Lucas, we argue that those who face questions of authenticity in the context of mental disorder cannot avoid the dilemma between the "self-discovery" and "self-creation" approaches. In response to Singh, we suggest some ways in which the concept of authenticity might be of relevance to clinicians.
  •  25
    Gilbert and colleagues are to be commended for drawing our attention to the need for a sounder empirical basis, and for more careful reasoning, in the context of the neuroethics debate on Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and its potential impact on the dimensions of personality, identity, agency, authenticity, autonomy and self (PIAAAS). While acknowledging this, this extended commentary critically examines their claim that the real-world relevance of the conclusions drawn in the neuroethics literat…Read more
  •  14
    This paper deals with a specific version of metaethical moral relativism, known as “speaker-relativism”. It starts by explaining the position, focussing on the views of two prominent contemporary relativists, Gilbert Harman and James Dreier. Both authors draw an analogy between ethics and modern physics: just as Einstein showed that judgments about time or mass were always relative to a specific frame of reference, Dreier and Harman argue that “absolutist” judgments about moral rightness or wron…Read more
  •  13
    Using a Public Health Ethics Framework to Unpick Discrimination in COVID-19 Responses
    with Roger Yat-Nork Chung, Hon-Lam Li, and Derrick Au
    American Journal of Bioethics 20 (7): 114-116. 2020.
    Volume 20, Issue 7, July 2020, Page 114-116.
  •  11
    Defusing the legal and ethical minefield of epigenetic applications in the military, defence and security context
    with Gratien Dalpe, Katherine Huerne, Charles Dupras, Katherine Cheung, Nicole Palmour, Eva Winkler, Karla Alex, Maxwell Mehlmann, John W. Holloway, Eline Bunnik, Harald König, Isabelle M. Mansuy, Marianne G. Rots, Cheryl Erwin, Emanuele Libertini, and Yann Joly
    Journal of Law and the Biosciences 10 (2): 1-32. 2023.
    Epigenetic research has brought several important technological achievements, including identifying epigenetic clocks and signatures, and developing epigenetic editing. The potential military applications of such technologies we discuss are stratifying soldiers’ health, exposure to trauma using epigenetic testing, information about biological clocks, confirming child soldiers’ minor status using epigenetic clocks, and inducing epigenetic modifications in soldiers. These uses could become a reali…Read more
  •  9
    Intending Versus Merely Foreseeing Harm: When Does It Make a Difference?
    American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 9 (3): 164-166. 2018.
  •  8
    Savulescu and colleagues propose a distinction between ‘future person embryo research’ and ‘non-future person embryo research’, which they hold can help decision-makers more efficiently discriminate between higher risk and lower risk embryo research.1 The authors’ proposed distinction does point to an ethically significant difference between different forms of embryo research, which they illustrate in an enlightening manner using a series of detailed case studies. In the following, I wish to com…Read more
  •  5
    Enriching, Rather than Revising, the Conceptual Toolbox on Germline Interventions
    American Journal of Bioethics 20 (8): 25-27. 2020.
    Volume 20, Issue 8, August 2020, Page 25-27.