neuro test 4 Flashcards
What are human cerebral organoids (HCOs)?
Where do they come from?
What are they used for?
- biological entities grown in the lab to mimic cells and their corresponding organs
- human cells
- used as models for the study of neuro development and disease. can possess some important features of the brain, so, in principle, may be able to develop some form of consciousness
What is meant when a being is said to have moral status?
What are moral agents and moral patients, and how are they related to the concept of moral status?
- moral status: valuable in a way that entails it should be treated with special regard. it has moral rights, which means that moral agents have duties to it
- moral agents: an entity capable or consciously evaluating ethical courses of action, making choices consistent with their principles, duties, and obligations, and choosing how to behave accordingly
- moral patients: any entity toward which moral agents may have direct responsibility (non conscious ppl or animals). They have rights owed to them, but no duties towards themselves
there is not much agreement on which beings have moral status and to what extent and in virtue of which characteristics
What is the connection between moral status and sentience? Between sentience and consciousness?
sentience (the ability to feel sensations) is a sufficient, but not necessary condition for moral status. if it is sentient, then it has consciousness and moral status
Define sufficient conditions and necessary conditions; be able to identify examples.
sufficient conditions:
- guarantees the presence of another condition, but is not necessary for that conditions, but is not necessary for that condition (the condition can occur without the sufficient one)
- ex: being a horse is sufficient for having hooves; getting an A in a class is sufficient for passing
- you dont need to have / be an X, to have / be a Y
necessary conditions:
- required for something else to occur, but its presence does not guarantee that something else will occur
- ex: having hooves is necessary for being a zebra; clouds are needed for rain
- you need to have / be an X, to have / be a Y
sentience is sufficient, but not necessary for consciousness
Briefly summarize the upshot of the authors’ discussion of the four neuroscientific theories of consciousness.
upshot: We aren’t in a position to say one theory is “correct,” but it stands to reason that HCOs at least have the potential to develop some basic form of consciousness, here’s why–
- not just one
- not enough research
- the chosen theory in part determines whether HCOs may develop consciousness
Four theories– presented in in an order that corresponds to an ascending degree of relationship b/n brain/body/environment necessary for the emergence of consciousness (i.e., “liberal” -> “conservative”) (stronger relationship between brain and body):
- Integrated Information Theory– no minimum threshold for consciousness
- Global Neuronal Workspace Theory– HCO may be able to, initial form
- Temporal-Spatial Theory of Consciousness– structure for consciousness
- Embodied Theory– not on its own, but can be transplanted into artificial body
I Get The Egg
List the three aspects of HCOs that the authors assert are particularly relevant to consideration of the (potential) moral status of HCOs, and explain why
HCOs…
1. have human origins
- they are genetically human
- share some characteristics with human brains
- they tend to develop the main structure and function of human brain - potential to develop a rudimentary form of consciousness
Olways Be Clenched
consciousness-based precautionary principle
Explain their proposal that this principle might be adopted as a means of safeguarding the moral rights of (conscious) HCOs (i.e., how would HCOs be classified/what rights would they have and what duties would humans have to them in virtue of those rights)?
Why do the authors ultimately reject that proposal
count HCOs as moral patients, worthy of some protection (but not absolute protection)
- the presence of consciousness on its own is not sufficient to determine moral status
- entities of different kinds that share the same level of consciousness can have different degrees of moral status
- ex: a person v dog in coma is the same consciousness, but still, intuitively, we say human has more moral status, which is why they reject this proposal
Neurorights
involve the ethical, legal, social, or natural principles of freedom, or entitlement related to a person’s cerebral and mental domain– the fundamental normative rules for the protection and preservation of the human brain and mind
what liberties are neurorights tryna protect
autonomy, privacy, integrity, identity, equal opportunity, nondiscrimination
A Private Investigator Owes Nothing
which neurorights are aimed at protecting personal autonomy
- cognitive liberty
- free will
- freedom of thought
- mental self-determination
- mental freedom
Come Free Me
proposal that we should adopt an “umbrella”
which is the ideal candidate
freedom of thought reconceived as freedom of thinking. turned into a neuroright by including the thought itself, which would include the emotional processes preceding it, thus freedom of thinking
Substantive law
Procedural law
substantive– creates the legal right
procedural– establishes how those rights are to be enforced/protected
habeas cogitationem
what its supposed to do
to what does it apply
why is it needed
does it exist
used to challenege the validity of a neurotechnological interference in a person’s though process, either in official or private hands
supposed to protect against coercive uses of neurotech, but also non-coercive ones that are unauthorized. its a negative right (keeps people from using it to interfere with others)
protect against direct, but not indirect (sensual) interventions
protects negative rights and interference into our thinking
no, does not exist
3 domains of ethics
social, individual, existential
