Syllabus for Neuroethics

Neuroetik

Syllabus

  • 7.5 credits
  • Course code: 3FV381
  • Education cycle: Second cycle
  • Main field(s) of study and in-depth level: Public Health A1N

    Explanation of codes

    The code indicates the education cycle and in-depth level of the course in relation to other courses within the same main field of study according to the requirements for general degrees:

    First cycle

    • G1N: has only upper-secondary level entry requirements
    • G1F: has less than 60 credits in first-cycle course/s as entry requirements
    • G1E: contains specially designed degree project for Higher Education Diploma
    • G2F: has at least 60 credits in first-cycle course/s as entry requirements
    • G2E: has at least 60 credits in first-cycle course/s as entry requirements, contains degree project for Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science
    • GXX: in-depth level of the course cannot be classified

    Second cycle

    • A1N: has only first-cycle course/s as entry requirements
    • A1F: has second-cycle course/s as entry requirements
    • A1E: contains degree project for Master of Arts/Master of Science (60 credits)
    • A2E: contains degree project for Master of Arts/Master of Science (120 credits)
    • AXX: in-depth level of the course cannot be classified

  • Grading system: Fail (U), Pass (G)
  • Established: 2016-06-21
  • Established by: The Educational Board of Medicine
  • Revised: 2017-12-12
  • Revised by: The Educational Board of Medicine
  • Applies from: Spring 2019
  • Entry requirements:

    120 credits

  • Responsible department: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences

Learning outcomes

The goal of the course is to provide knowledge of neuroethical theories and concepts that apply to (a) ethical questions arising in connection with developments in neuroscience and neurotechnology, and (b) questions concerning how knowledge of the brain’s functional architecture and its evolution can deepen our understanding of the evolution of moral thinking and judgment.

After the completed course, we expect the student to be able to:

  • give an account of the relevance of neuroscience to understanding the development of moral judgment;
  • critically analyse different neuroethical approaches to central philosophical problems, such as whether the human being can have a free will, or moral responsibility;
  • give an account of some ethical problems that arise in connection with applications of neuroscientific or neurotechnological advances, e.g. new techniques to measure brain activities, new methods for cognitive enhancement, or new drug uses in psychopharmacology;
  • give an account of ethical problems that arise in clinical contexts, such as how to assess autonomy or decision-capacity in patients with neuro-degenerative disorders;
  • write an independent essay in which a coherent and constructive – i.e. not merely descriptive – argumentation is presented concerning some freely chosen neuroethical question.

Content

Different types of neuroethical issues will be discussed during the course. The course focuses both on applied neuroethics, i.e. ethical questions that arise from neuroscientific or neurotechnological advances; and on fundamental neuroethics, i.e. questions concerning how knowledge of the brain’s functional architecture and its evolution can deepen our understanding of human thought, including moral thought and judgment. The course also includes clinical perspectives, e.g. to what extent a patient with a neuro-degenerative disorder suffers from reduced capacity for decision-making, or reduced autonomy, or when a person with dementia can give an informed consent to participate in scientific studies.

Instruction

The teaching will be given in the form of web-based lectures. This is an entirely web-based course (distance education)

Assessment

Examination will be in the form of individual essays.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

Other directives

This course replaces 3FV236 Neuroethics.

Syllabus Revisions

Reading list

Reading list

Applies from: Autumn 2018

Some titles may be available electronically through the University library.

Suggested reading list (non-obligatory)

  • Bennett, M. R. Neuroscience and philosophy : brain, mind, and language

    New York: Columbia University Press, cop. 2007

    Find in the library

  • Bernat, James L. Ethical Issues in Neurology 3rd Edition

    Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008

    Find in the library

  • Buller, Tom Can We Scan For Truth in a Society of Liars?

    Part of:

    The American journal of bioethics : AJOB.

    Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, c2001-

    Find in the library

  • Buller, Tom Broadening the Focus

    Part of:

    CQ : Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : the International journal for healthcare ethics committees

    Cambridge: Cambridge U.P., 1992-

    Find in the library

  • Changeux, Jean-Pierre.; Changeux, Jean-Pierre. Neurobiology of human values

    Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2005

    Find in the library

  • Chatterjee, Anjan Cosmetic neurology: the controversy over enhancing movement, mentation, and mood

    Part of:

    Neurology : official journal of the American academy of neurology

    Minneapolis, Minn: Lancet Publications Inc., 1951-

    Find in the library

  • Churchland, Patricia Smith Brain-wise : studies in neurophilosophy

    Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, cop. 2002

    Find in the library

  • Waal, Frans de Good natured : the origins of right and wrong in humans and other animals

    Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1996

    Find in the library

  • Evers, Kathinka Can we be epigenetically proactive?

    Part of:

    Open Mind

    Frankfurt am Main: MIND Group, 2015

    Find in the library

  • Evers, Kathinka; Sigman, Mariano Possibilities and limits of mind-reading: A neurophilosophical perspective

    Part of:

    Consciousness and cognition : an international journal

    San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press, 1992-

    Find in the library

  • Evers, Kathinka Towards a philosophy for neuroethics : An informed materialist view of the brain might help to develop theoretical frameworks for applied neuroethics

    Part of:

    EMBO reports

    Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2000-

    Find in the library

  • Evers, Kathinka; Kilander, Lena; Maria, Lindau Insight in frontotemporal dementia : Conceptual analysis and empirical evaluation of the consensus criterion “loss of insight” in frontotemporal dementia

    Part of:

    Brain and cognition.

    New York: Academic Press, 1982-

    Find in the library

  • Evers, Kathinka Perspectives on Memory Manipulation : Using Beta-Blockers to Cure Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

    Part of:

    CQ : Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : the International journal for healthcare ethics committees

    Cambridge: Cambridge U.P., 1992-

    (2007) s. 138-146

    Find in the library

  • Evers, Kathinka Neuroethics : A Philosophical Challenge

    Part of:

    The American journal of bioethics : AJOB.

    Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, c2001-

    (2005) s. 31-33

    Find in the library

  • Farah, Martha J Neuroethics : The Ethical, Legal, and Societal Impact of Neuroscience

    Part of:

    Annual review of psychology.

    Palo Alto,Calif: Annual Reviews Inc., 1950-

    (2012) s. 571-591

    Find in the library

  • Farah, Martha J Neuroethics : the practical and the philosophical

    Part of:

    Trends in cognitive sciences.

    Cambridge: Elsevier, 1997-

    (2005) s. 34-40

    Find in the library

  • Illes, Judy; Sahakian, B. J. The Oxford handbook of neuroethics

    Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2013

    Find in the library

  • Levy, Neuroethics : Challenges for the 21st Century

    1: Cambridge University Press, 2007

    Find in the library

  • Conference on neural correlates of consciousness : empirical and conceptual questions

    Part of:

    Consciousness and cognition : an international journal

    San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press, 1992-

    Find in the library

  • Moll, Jorge; de Oliveira-Souza, Ricardo; Eslinger, Paul J Morals and the human brain : a working model

    Part of:

    NeuroReport : an international journal for the rapid communication of research in neuroscience

    Oxford: Rapid Communications of Oxford, 1990-

    Find in the library

  • Moreno, Jonathan Neuroethics : an agenda for neuroscience and society

    Part of:

    Nature reviews. : Neuroscience

    London: Nature Publishing Group, 2000-

    Find in the library

  • Morse, S New Therapies, old problems or a plea for neuromodesty

    Part of:

    AJOB neuroscience

    Find in the library

  • Nagel, Thomas Mind and cosmos : why the materialist neo-Darwinian conception of nature is almost certainly false

    New York: Oxford University Press, 2012

    Find in the library

  • Rose, Steven P. R. The future of the brain : the promise and perils of tomorrow's neuroscience

    Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005

    Find in the library

  • Roskies, A Neuroethics for the new millennium

    Part of:

    Neuron.

    Cambridge, Mass.: Cell Press, 1988-

    Find in the library

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