The Ethical Brain - Hardcover
Will increased scientific understanding of our brains overturn our beliefs about moral and ethical behavior? How will increasingly powerful brain imaging technologies affect the ideas of privacy and of self-incrimination? Such thought-provoking questions are rapidly emerging as new discoveries in neuroscience have raised difficult legal and ethical dilemmas. Michael Gazzaniga, widely considered to be the father of cognitive neuroscience, investigates with an expert eye some of these controversial and complex issues in The Ethical Brain.
He first examines "lifespan neuroethics" and considers how brain development defines human life, from when an embryo develops a brain and could be considered "one of us" to the issues raised as the brain ages, such as whether we should have complete freedom to extend our lives and enhance our brains through the use of genetics, pharmaceuticals, and training.
Gazzaniga also considers the challenges posed to the justice system by new discoveries in neuroscience. Recent findings suggest that our brain has already made a decision before we become fully aware of doing so, raising the question of whether the concept of personal responsibility can remain a fundamental tenet of the law. Gazzaniga argues that as neuroscience learns more about the unreliability of human memory, the very foundation of trial law will be challenged.
Gazzaniga then discusses a radical re-evaluation of the nature of moral belief, as he not only looks at possibly manipulating the part of the brain that creates beliefs but also explores how scientific research is building a brain-based account of moral reasoning.
The Ethical Brain is a groundbreaking volume that presents neuroscience's loaded findings—and their ethical implications—in an engaging and readable manner, offering an incisive and thoughtful analysis of the medical ethics challenges confronting modern society at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
He first examines "lifespan neuroethics" and considers how brain development defines human life, from when an embryo develops a brain and could be considered "one of us" to the issues raised as the brain ages, such as whether we should have complete freedom to extend our lives and enhance our brains through the use of genetics, pharmaceuticals, and training.
Gazzaniga also considers the challenges posed to the justice system by new discoveries in neuroscience. Recent findings suggest that our brain has already made a decision before we become fully aware of doing so, raising the question of whether the concept of personal responsibility can remain a fundamental tenet of the law. Gazzaniga argues that as neuroscience learns more about the unreliability of human memory, the very foundation of trial law will be challenged.
Gazzaniga then discusses a radical re-evaluation of the nature of moral belief, as he not only looks at possibly manipulating the part of the brain that creates beliefs but also explores how scientific research is building a brain-based account of moral reasoning.
The Ethical Brain is a groundbreaking volume that presents neuroscience's loaded findings—and their ethical implications—in an engaging and readable manner, offering an incisive and thoughtful analysis of the medical ethics challenges confronting modern society at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Michael S. Gazzaniga, Ph.D, is the David T. McLaughlin Distinguished Professor at and the director of the Center of Cognitive Neuroscience at Dartmouth College. He has served on the President's Council on Bioethics since 2001, is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is the president-elect of the American Psychological Society.
Review:
"If it were possible for this book to have been written a couple of thousand years ago, we might have avoided a lot of misery. What an important question it raises: what is known about the brain that can guide us in forming a set of rational ethical principles? The great frontier before us is the question of how we will deal with one another, and this fascinating book gets us on our way. "—Alan Alda
(Alan Alda 2005-01-04)
"Michael Gazzaniga is one of the country's preeminent brain scientists and a keen observer of much about human behavior. Not content merely to serve on the President's Council on Bioethics, he took the opportunity to formulate a new understanding of how the emerging field of neuroscience might actually allow us to solve what seem to be so many intractable ethical issues raised by modern medicine. This is a witty, well written, highly informed account of how our brain forms our beliefs and how we can determine what beliefs serve us best."—Robert Bazell, chief health and science correspondent, NBC News
(Robert Bazell 2005-01-03)
"Wonderfully nourishing food for thought. Gazzinaga tackles some of the toughest ethical issues of our time with vigor, intelligence, and insight."—Diane Ackermann, author of An Alchemy of Mind
(Diane Ackerman 2005-01-03)
"When does life begin? When does it end? Is there a universal morality? Michael Gazzaniga gives us the scientific data behind these fundamental questions. His exciting book provides new insights for researchers and for all of us on brain research and ethical issues."—Michael I Posner, University of Oregon
(Michael I. Posner 2004-10-01)
"Michael Gazzaniga, a pioneer of cognitive neuroscience, has written a compelling, accessible, and opinionated book that illuminates the profound issues that arise when modern neuroscience intersects with the concerns of ethics, religion, and public policy."—Steven Hyman, provost, Harvard University
(Steven Hyman 2005-02-01)
"The study of the brain is the 21st century's hottest subject not only in science but also in philosophy. If, as science now tells us, we are nothing more than robots controlled by a chemical analog computer called the brain, where does that leave such quaint notions as ethical behavior? Who better to say than one of the two most brilliant experimental neuroscientists in the world, Michael Gazzaniga? This is a provocative and highly readable book."—Tom Wolfe
(Tom Wolfe 2005-02-09)
"The Ethical Brain is an extraordinary book. Michael Gazzaniga asks profound questions about life, ethics, the brain, reason, and irrationality. His discussion of these issues—ones that perplex ethicists, philosophers, and psychologists—is lucid, provocative, and deeply interesting. This is an important and fascinating book.”—Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
(Kay Redfield Jamison 2005-03-30)
"A thoughtful and accessible introduction to an entirely new domain of moral concern. Gazzaniga writes with verve and expertise about the fascinating issues that will confront us as our knowledge of the brain expands."—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Blank Slate and How the Mind Works
(Steven Pinker 2005-04-01)
"An eminent neuroscientist carefully and yet provocatively explores how neuroscience can shape an ethical discussion about brain science in our society . . . a very readable book."—Fred Gage, Adler Professor, Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
(Fred Gage 2005-04-05)
(Alan Alda 2005-01-04)
"Michael Gazzaniga is one of the country's preeminent brain scientists and a keen observer of much about human behavior. Not content merely to serve on the President's Council on Bioethics, he took the opportunity to formulate a new understanding of how the emerging field of neuroscience might actually allow us to solve what seem to be so many intractable ethical issues raised by modern medicine. This is a witty, well written, highly informed account of how our brain forms our beliefs and how we can determine what beliefs serve us best."—Robert Bazell, chief health and science correspondent, NBC News
(Robert Bazell 2005-01-03)
"Wonderfully nourishing food for thought. Gazzinaga tackles some of the toughest ethical issues of our time with vigor, intelligence, and insight."—Diane Ackermann, author of An Alchemy of Mind
(Diane Ackerman 2005-01-03)
"When does life begin? When does it end? Is there a universal morality? Michael Gazzaniga gives us the scientific data behind these fundamental questions. His exciting book provides new insights for researchers and for all of us on brain research and ethical issues."—Michael I Posner, University of Oregon
(Michael I. Posner 2004-10-01)
"Michael Gazzaniga, a pioneer of cognitive neuroscience, has written a compelling, accessible, and opinionated book that illuminates the profound issues that arise when modern neuroscience intersects with the concerns of ethics, religion, and public policy."—Steven Hyman, provost, Harvard University
(Steven Hyman 2005-02-01)
"The study of the brain is the 21st century's hottest subject not only in science but also in philosophy. If, as science now tells us, we are nothing more than robots controlled by a chemical analog computer called the brain, where does that leave such quaint notions as ethical behavior? Who better to say than one of the two most brilliant experimental neuroscientists in the world, Michael Gazzaniga? This is a provocative and highly readable book."—Tom Wolfe
(Tom Wolfe 2005-02-09)
"The Ethical Brain is an extraordinary book. Michael Gazzaniga asks profound questions about life, ethics, the brain, reason, and irrationality. His discussion of these issues—ones that perplex ethicists, philosophers, and psychologists—is lucid, provocative, and deeply interesting. This is an important and fascinating book.”—Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
(Kay Redfield Jamison 2005-03-30)
"A thoughtful and accessible introduction to an entirely new domain of moral concern. Gazzaniga writes with verve and expertise about the fascinating issues that will confront us as our knowledge of the brain expands."—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Blank Slate and How the Mind Works
(Steven Pinker 2005-04-01)
"An eminent neuroscientist carefully and yet provocatively explores how neuroscience can shape an ethical discussion about brain science in our society . . . a very readable book."—Fred Gage, Adler Professor, Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
(Fred Gage 2005-04-05)
"He calls on both sides of his brain to write a book that's part science and part philosophy, making a convincing plea for an ethical code informed by scientific understanding."—Psychology Today
(Psychology Today 2005-05-01)"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherDana Press
- Publication date2005
- ISBN 10 1932594019
- ISBN 13 9781932594010
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages232
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