Ethical Issues Of Drug-neuroenhancement

Study on ethical issues of drug-neuroenhancement devotes to rethinking the ethical issues which are brought by drug-neuroenhancement and the challenge to traditional normative ethics. It is the research area of neuroethics. Drug-neuroenhancement is a branch of neuroethics. It is an intervention on human beings that uses drugs to improve cerebral function. It uses stimulant to improve physical strength, single force, memory, attention, even intelligence that aim to enhance cognitive, mood, morality. The intervention already exceeds the need of maintain or repair health, and on one hand, the safety of using drugs to healthy individuals is uncertain, on the other hand, it brings a series of ethical issues, therefore it becomes research object of neuroethics. Drug-neuroenhancement refers to principles of safety, autonomy and justice. The "should or should not" question is based on these principles, and the essence of answering this question is to rethink the drug-neuroenhancement behavior and to find the best principle for human being’s behavior.The article clarifies the concepts of enhancement, treatment, neuroenhancement and drug-neuroenhancement. Then according to existing research progress of neuroenhancement, it summarizes the types of drugs that are used in drug-neuroenhancement. Then the article analyzes the ethical problems that are raised by drug-neuroenhancement, including safety issues, autonomy issues and social justice issues. Direct at the "should or should not" question, it puts forward that drug-neuroenhancement should base on practical wisdom and follow the personalized treatment strategy. And it suggests to structure principle framework of drug-neuroenhancement. However it should case by case when it refers to drug-neuroenhancement,...