Neuroethics and the possibility of human improvement

Abstract

If we define "neuroethics" as "the examination of what is right or wrong, the good and the bad about the treatment, improvement or unwanted invasion and disturbing manipulation of the human brain.", we can agree that there are many challenges that arise in front of us. Pharmacological advances,  neuroimaging techniques and technological advances, open up the possibility of knowing the details of our mental states, as well as improving our cognitive abilities. In the present work we examine the pros and cons of this new scenario. On the one hand, those who defend these improvements as a step towards a more complete personal freedom, and even the moral obligation to improve those traits that make us more human, but also the prudential objections of those who oppose them. The human being is not merely a set of cognitive abilities, but a biography and an incardination in a social and cultural fabric. We maintain precarious balances, the fruit of generations in interaction with a highly complex physical and cultural environment.