Defending Cognitive Liberty in an Age of Moral Engineering

In 2009, Mark Walker first proposed the Genetic Virtue Project, advancing that science should explore using genetic engineering to eliminate moral evils just as it attempts to eliminate natural ones like disease. This seemed like an issue for the far future given the unique challenges. Walker focuse...

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:Moral enhancement and deification through technology?
Main Author: Weissenbacher, Alan (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge [2018]
In: Theology and science
Year: 2018, Volume: 16, Issue: 3, Pages: 288-299
IxTheo Classification:NBE Anthropology
NCB Personal ethics
NCJ Ethics of science
Further subjects:B cognitive liberty
B Mark Walker
B neuro-law
B neuro-ethics
B Brain Virtue Project
B moral engineering
B Genetic Virtue Project
B Acceptability Across Ideologies
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:In 2009, Mark Walker first proposed the Genetic Virtue Project, advancing that science should explore using genetic engineering to eliminate moral evils just as it attempts to eliminate natural ones like disease. This seemed like an issue for the far future given the unique challenges. Walker focused on the wrong aspect of personhood, however, as moral engineering of the brain appears to be a more likely possibility. As early aspects of moral engineering the brain are in development, especially through the manipulation of the neural correlates of religious and political beliefs, emotions, and behaviors, I consider several issues surrounding this project so as to protect individual rights and prevent future harms. I advance an internal criterion for the field called Acceptability Across Ideologies to serve as a guide to protect against coercive and harmful technologies and analyze how current laws protecting cognitive liberty are lacking and in need of revision.
ISSN:1474-6719
Contains:Enthalten in: Theology and science
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/14746700.2018.1488476