CFP: Neurotherapeutics and Psychosurgery

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

May 21–22, 2015

Insight Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience

Flint, Michigan

“To be ashamed of one’s immorality: that is a step on the staircase at whose end one is also ashamed of one’s morality.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

“This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his imperfections.” ― Augustine

The theme should be interpreted broadly. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • What is neural enhancement, exactly? Is it a significantly new notion or simply an old idea that makes use of new technologies?
  • Enhancement is sometimes described as a means to make people “better than well”. What exactly does it mean to be “better than well”?
  • In what ways does neural enhancement affect a person’s identity?
  • What are the social, political and legal ramifications of making neural enhancement technologies available?
  • What questions are raised by the use of biomedical moral enhancers? Can such techniques/products genuinely improve the moral character of a person? What does moral mean if moral actions are the result of moral enhancers?
  • If biomedical enhancements worked, is a person morally obligated to use them? Is the state permitted to mandate their use, on adults or children or both?
  • Are “enhancement” techniques a form of eugenics? Why or why not? If so, is there anything morally objectionable about them?
  • Do individuals have the right to “enhance” themselves? Do parents have the right (the obligation?) to biomedically and/or neurologically enhance their children—in utero or ex utero? Both?
  • What counts as psychosurgery (sometimes referred to as neurosurgery for mental disorder, NMD)? What purposes should it serve? What mental illnesses or disorders should be treated with this method, if any? Does NMD raise any particular ethical problems or questions?
  • Rates of psychosurgery vary dramatically from country to country. What social factors influence psychosurgical practices?
  • What social and legal questions are raised by the practice of psychosurgery? Does it influence questions of a person’s legal or moral accountability? If so, why?
  • What questions of personal identity are raised by psychosurgery?
  • What issues of consent are raised by psychosurgery?
  • Should people convicted of crimes have the option (the right?) to opt for psychosurgery to reduce (replace?) a prison sentence? Can psychosurgery be performed on individuals to ensure they are fit to stand trial and/or be justly punished for crimes committed? Should we conceive of psychosurgery as treatment or punishment?

Submissions

Submissions of abstracts (not exceeding 1000 words) are invited for presentation of talks (plan for 20 minutes to talk, about 3000 words). Please submit your abstract through the submissions form found on the conference website, prepared for anonymous review. We welcome proposals for panels and co-presentations. All submissions should be of previously non-published work.

We welcome submissions from a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, the neurosciences, and the pharmaceutical and medical sciences, the social sciences, critical studies (including gender and sexuality studies, disability studies, race studies, and critical legal theory…), law, education, linguistics, as well as other relevant disciplines and fields.

The deadline for proposal submission is January 1, 2015. Please send all questions, comments, and concerns to Jami L. Anderson at anderson@cognethic.org.

 Vol. 3, no. 2 of the Journal of Cognition and Neuroethics (JCN) will be based on the proceedings of the May 2015 CCN conference. All papers presented at the Neurotherapeutics and Psychosurgery conference will be eligible for inclusion in this issue of JCN. For additional journal and contact information, see http://www.cognethic.org/jcn.html.

The Journal of Cognition and Neuroethics is a peer-reviewed, open access journal published online, aimed at the cross-fertilization of research in neuroscience and related medical fields with scholarship in normative disciplines that address and analyze the legal, social and ethical implications of institutional policies. JCN is committed to presenting wide-ranging discussions. We are looking to publish works that explore ideas, concepts, theories and their implications across multiple disciplines and professions.

The Center for Cognition and Neuroethics promotes both the exploration of the conceptual foundations of the neurosciences and the study of the implications of their advances for society in the legal, political, and ethical realms. The CCN will disseminate this knowledge to as wide an audience as possible through publications, seminars, and other media. We engage in activities across multiple disciplines and professions that allow opportunities for intellectual synergy and increased impact by creating, fostering and supporting research and educational collaborations and communication. For more information about CCN see http://www.cognethic.org/.

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