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Introduction: Ethics and Anticipatory Governance of Nano-Neurotechnological Convergence

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Nanotechnology, the Brain, and the Future

Part of the book series: Yearbook of Nanotechnology in Society ((YNTS,volume 3))

Abstract

The brain is the center of what makes us human. Art, culture, science, democracy, religion, technology – products of human thought and ideas, products of the unique capabilities of the human brain. Yet, for all but the last few decades, the human brain has been essentially a mystery, a biological organ whose functioning we could at best guess at from observations of human behavior and mental pathologies but about which we knew exceedingly little. All of that has changed, however. The rise of neuroscience as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry, deep investments during the 1990s – the Decade of the Brain – in new technologies, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, and long persistence on the part of pioneering scientists have given us a wealth of new insights into the behavior and function of the human central nervous system.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In addition, even if the ethical issues of nanotechnology could be successfully translated into bioethics and risk analysis frameworks, we would have the metaethical question of whether or not those frameworks are in themselves sufficient.

  2. 2.

    For an overview of the state of the science, see, e.g., the Journal of Nanoneuroscience (http://www.aspbs.com/jns.htm) and a 2010 report on nanobiomedicine that focuses particularly on nanoneurotechnology (http://pharmabiotech.ch/reports/nanobiotechnology/)

  3. 3.

    This paragraph is drawn, with slight modification, from Robert (2008).

  4. 4.

    Especially people with disabilities – and especially given the controversy within deaf communities about an early neural prosthetic, the cochlear implant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Arizona State University, 875603, AZ, 85287-5603, Tempe, USA

    Jason Scott Robert, Clark A. Miller & Valerye Milleson

Authors
  1. Jason Scott Robert
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  2. Clark A. Miller
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  3. Valerye Milleson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jason Scott Robert .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , The Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Arizona State University, PO Box 875603, TEMPE, 85287-5603, USA

    Sean A. Hays

  2. , The Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Arizona State University, PO BOX 875603, Tempe, 85287-5603, Arizona, USA

    Jason Scott Robert

  3. , The Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Arizona State University, PO Box 875603, Tempe, 85287-5603, Arizona, USA

    Clark A. Miller

  4. , The Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Arizona State University, PO BOX 875603, Tempe, 85287-5603, Arizona, USA

    Ira Bennett

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Robert, J.S., Miller, C.A., Milleson, V. (2013). Introduction: Ethics and Anticipatory Governance of Nano-Neurotechnological Convergence. In: Hays, S., Robert, J., Miller, C., Bennett, I. (eds) Nanotechnology, the Brain, and the Future. Yearbook of Nanotechnology in Society, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1787-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1787-9_1

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