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Cognitive enhancement is the use of drugs, biotechnological strategies or other means by healthy individuals aiming at the improvement of cognitive functions such as vigilance, concentration or memory without any medical need. In particular, the use of pharmacological substances (caffeine, prescription drugs or illicit drugs) has received considerable attention during the last few years. Currently, however, little is known concerning the use of cognitive enhancers, their effects in healthy individuals and the place and function of cognitive enhancement in everyday life. The purpose of the book is to give an overview of the current research on cognitive enhancement and to provide in-depth insights into the interdisciplinary debate on cognitive enhancement.
List of contents
Cognitive Enhancement - a Critical Look at the Recent Debate.- Pharmacological Neuroenhancement: Substances and Epidemiology.- Psychopharmacological Neuroenhancement: Evidence on Safety and Efficacy.- A Bubble of Enthusiasm: How Prevalent is the Use of Prescription Stimulants for Cognitive Enhancement?- Modeling the Effects of Modafinil on Selective Attention Electroencephalographic Neural Correlates.- Behavioral Neuroenhancement.- The Influence of Sports on Cognitive Task Performance - a Critical Overview.- The Human Experiment: How We Won't Win the Rat Race. What Can We Learn from Brain Stimulation in Humans and Rats About Enhancing the Functional Neurobiology of Higher Cognitive Functions?- Better Brains or Bitter Brains? The Ethics of Neuroenhancement.- Cognitive Enhancement - to what End?- Nano-Bionic Devices for the Purpose of Cognitive Enhancement: Toward a Preliminary Ethical Framework.- Cognitive-Enhancing Drugs, Behavioral Training and the Mechanism ofCognitive Enhancement.- What Is Cognitive Enhancement? And Is It Justified to Point Out This Kind of Enhancement Within the Ethical Discussion?- No Pain, No Gain? Objections to the Use of Cognitive Enhancement on the Basis of Its Potential Effects on the Value of Achievement.- Does the Cognitive Enhancement Debate Call for a Renewal of the Deliberative Role of Bioethics?- The Biopolitics of Cognitive Enhancement.- Are We Heading Towards an 'Enhancement Society'?- 18. Leveling the Playing Field: Fairness in the Cognitive Enhancement Debate.- My Mind is Mine!? Cognitive Liberty as a Legal Concept.- Cognitive Enhancement and Criminal Behavior.- Enhanced Control and Criminal Responsibility.
About the author
Elisabeth Hildt studierte Biochemie in Tübingen und München, Promotion in Tübingen zum Thema Medizinethik. Seit 1998 Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin mit dem Schwerpunkt Medizinethik am Institut Technik-Theologie-Naturwissenschaften in München.
Summary
Cognitive enhancement is the use of drugs, biotechnological strategies or other means by healthy individuals aiming at the improvement of cognitive functions such as vigilance, concentration or memory without any medical need. In particular, the use of pharmacological substances (caffeine, prescription drugs or illicit drugs) has received considerable attention during the last few years. Currently, however, little is known concerning the use of cognitive enhancers, their effects in healthy individuals and the place and function of cognitive enhancement in everyday life. The purpose of the book is to give an overview of the current research on cognitive enhancement and to provide in-depth insights into the interdisciplinary debate on cognitive enhancement.
Additional text
From the reviews:
“The editors and chapter authors have produced a very informative book. The intended audience is wide ranging and includes ethicists, philosophers, physicians, psychologists, attorneys, and legislators. … Written and edited by international experts in the field, this is a welcome addition to neuroethics. It covers an increasingly important issue for our society, cognitive enhancement.” (Michael Joel Schrift, Doody’s Book Reviews, August, 2013)
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From the reviews:
"The editors and chapter authors have produced a very informative book. The intended audience is wide ranging and includes ethicists, philosophers, physicians, psychologists, attorneys, and legislators. ... Written and edited by international experts in the field, this is a welcome addition to neuroethics. It covers an increasingly important issue for our society, cognitive enhancement." (Michael Joel Schrift, Doody's Book Reviews, August, 2013)
