CAPEでは、世界中から多数の研究者を迎え、定期的にレクチャーを開いています。応用哲学・専門職倫理に関する最新の研究動向を紹介し、意見交換することを目的に企画されました。また、CAPEレクチャーは、CAPEワークショップともに、外部に公開しています。CAPEは研究者間の国際交流と共同研究、そして人材育成を推進してゆきます。
Professor Richard Huxtable
Title:Assisted Dying in the UK: Will It? Should It?
Abstract:Although it is traditionally averse to (physician) assisted dying, English law is currently re-assessing its approach, and there is the possibility that the law might change to allow the practice. Whether the law should change is, of course, a significant ethical question. In this presentation, I initially outline the current legal position with regards to assisted dying i.e. assisted suicide and active voluntary euthanasia. Four key court rulings are described, which indicate that the law is gradually relaxing. Various Parliamentarians now think that assisted dying (in some form) should be permitted, and, having indicated some of the legal models that exist worldwide, I describe a proposal that is currently being debated in the UK. From here we move to the crucial question: should assisted dying be allowed? Here I trace the different ethical arguments offered in support of, and opposition to, such proposals, and I close with some reflections on whether – perhaps unexpectedly – it might be appropriate and possible to achieve a compromise on this difficult question.
Professor Ruud ter Meulen
Title:Should we take pharmacological drugs to improve our cognitive functioning?
About the risks and benefits of cognitive enhancement.
Abstract:There has been a recent excitement among some neuroscientists and bioethicists about the possibility of using drugs and other technologies to enhance cognition in healthy individuals. This excitement arises from recent advances in neuroscientific technologies such as drugs that increase alertness and wakefulness in healthy individuals or technologies that can stimulate activity in different parts of the brain-either via the scalp or via electrodes in the brain. All of these technologies raise the possibility of producing cognitive and affective improvements in otherwise healthy individuals. This development has been described using the term ‘cognitive enhancement’, meaning an improvement of the cognitive and intellectual capacities of the brain. This possibility raises important questions: What is meant by ‘improvement’ or, more specifically ‘improvement of the brain’? Does it mean merely improvements that result in better college grades or better work performance, or does it mean improvements that result in more wellbeing and happiness in individuals’ personal lives? How can taking a drug improve these functions especially in healthy individuals free from clinical disorders?
This presentation will deal with some of these ethical questions. It will start with an overview of the various technologies to improve cognitive functioning, particularly psychopharmacological or psychotropic drugs (sometimes called ‘smart drugs’) like Modafinil and Aderall or Ritalin. I will continue with a presentation of some of the scientific evidence about the effects of these drugs and their possible side-effects, like addiction. After the discussion of the benefits and risks, I will deal with the (alleged) use among college students and academics. I will finish with a discussion of more fundamental ethical concerns like the threat to authenticity, the possible coercive effects of ‘smart drugs’, and the increase competitive behavior that might result from their use. I will finish with the presentation of some ethical questions for further discussion.