Buddhism and neuroethics: The ethics of pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement

Developing World Bioethics

Volumn 9, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 47-56

  Fenton, Andrew ^a,b  

^a DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY   (Canada)

Author keywords

Bioethics; Buddhist ethics; Cognitive enhancement; Comparative ethics; Neuroethics

Indexed keywords

NOOTROPIC AGENT;

ARTICLE; BIOETHICS; COGNITION; DRUG EFFECT; ETHICS; HUMAN; HUMAN CHARACTERISTIC; NEUROSCIENCE; RELIGION;

BIOETHICAL ISSUES; BUDDHISM; COGNITION; HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS; HUMANS; NEUROSCIENCES; NOOTROPIC AGENTS; RELIGION AND MEDICINE; RELIGION AND PSYCHOLOGY; RELIGION AND SCIENCE;

EID: 68349127252     PISSN: 14718731     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-8847.2007.00226.x     Document Type: Article

References (185)

1. M.J. Farah et al. Neurocognitive Enhancement: What Can We Do and What Should We Do? Nat Rev Neurosci 2004 5 : 421 425
2. T. Fuchs. Ethical Issues in Neuroscience. Curr Opin Psychiatry 2006 19 : 600 607
3. W. Glannon. Neuroethics. Bioethics 2006 20 : 37 52
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10. See P. Harvey. 2000. An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations, Values and Issues. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
11. D. Keown. 1995/2001. Buddhism and Bioethics. New York, NY: Palgrave.
12. As we will see, Buddhists have a particular view of dissatisfaction or suffering that underlies their basic 'soteriological' message. The 'test' of authenticity of dharma (or teaching) and practice consists in its potential to end dissatisfaction. For an application of this test see the K̄l̄ma Sutta. Available at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wheel008. html. [Accessed 13 Apr 2007].
13. For a different use of this term, see Farah et al., op. cit. note 1, pp.421-425.
14. Glannon, op. cit. note 1, pp. 37-52.
15. W. Glannon. Psychopharmacology and Memory. J Med Ethics 2006 32 : 74 78.
16. Paul Wolpe has, I think rightly, problematized a strict distinction between enhancement and treatment. See P.R. Wolpe. Treatment, Enhancement, and the Ethics of Neurotherapeutics. Brain Cogn 2002 50 : 387 395.
17. Farah et al., ibid.
18. Fuchs, op. cit. note 1.
19. Glannon, ibid.
20. Farah et al., ibid.
21. Glannon, ibid.
22. Glannon, ibid.
23. Glannon, op. cit. note 5, pp. 74-78.
24. It is notoriously difficult to defend our prere?ective moral intuition that needs ordinarily trump mere wants or desires. I am indexing needs to faring well. Since a need is something that is either necessary or sufficient for a human to fare well, the relevant human is harmed if her needs are not met. What I have in mind here is similar to Frankfurt's view of those needs that ordinarily trump mere wants or desires. It is his contention that to be a need that ordinarily trumps mere wants or desires - what I would call a morally significant need - it must be true that (i) a failure to have a needmet harms the relevant individual and (ii)the avoidance of such a harm is outside of the relevant individual's control. See H.G. Frankfurt. Necessity and Desire. Philos Phenomenol Res 1984 45 : 1-13.
25. Of course, in some job contexts, faster, more efficient machinery-including laptops-can make a difference in the wellbeing of the relevant employees. This caveat does not reveal a flaw in my choice of example, however. Something as quintessentially consumerist as owning, or having free access to, a television can be a need in contexts like long-term incarceration. The problem of finding examples of mere wants that usually or almost never qualify as needs helps to highlight the conceptual difficulties of clearly distinguishing mere wants from needs.
26. Glannon, op. cit. note 1.
27. Q. Babcock T. Byrne. Student Perceptions of Methylphenidate Abuse at a Public Liberal Arts College. J Am Coll Health 2000;49 : 143-45.
28. S.E. McCabe et al. Non-medical Use of Prescription Stimulants among US College Students: Prevalence and Correlates from a National Survey. Addiction 2005 99 : 96 106.
29. M.J. Farah. Neuroethics: The Practical and the Philosophical. Trends Cogn Sci 2005; 9: 34-40.
30. Farah et al., op. cit. note 1
31. Babcock &Byrne, op. cit. note 12.
32. Babcock &Byrne, op. cit. note 12. Ibid.
33. M.J. Farah. Neuroethics: The Practical and the Philosophical. Trends Cogn Sci 2005 9 : 34 40 Hall. The Quest for a Smart Pill. Sci Am 2003 289(3):54-65.
34. NYU Medical Center/NYU School of Medicine. 2005. Age Associated Memory Impairment. Available at: http://www.med.nyu.edu/adc/forpatients/memory.html [Accessed 13 Apr 2007].
35. M.S. Gazzaniga. 2005. The Ethical Brain: The Science of Our Moral Dilemmas. New York, NY: Harper Perennial: 72.
36. M.S. Gazzaniga. 2005. The Ethical Brain: The Science of Our Moral Dilemmas. New York, NY: Harper Perennial: 72. Ibid.
37. Hall, op. cit. note 16.
38. Hall, ibid, p. 64.
39. Gazzaniga, op. cit. note 17.
40. Hall, ibid.
41. Hall, ibid, pp. 64-65.
42. Hall, ibid, pp. 64-65.
43. Hall, ibid, pp. 64-65.
44. Hall, ibid, pp. 64-65.
45. Thich Nhat Hanh. 1999. The Heart of Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation. New York, NY: Broadway Books.
46. D. Keown. 2004. Oxford Dictionary of Buddhism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
47. A. Khema. 1987. Being Nobody, Going Nowhere: Meditations on the Buddhist Path. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications.
48. W. Rahula. 1974. What the Buddha Taught. New York, NY: Grove Press, Inc.
49. Keown, ibid.
50. Khema, ibid.
51. Thich Nhat Hanh, op. cit. note 25
52. Keown, ibid.
53. Keown, ibid;
54. Khema, op. cit. note 25.
55. Keown, ibid;
56. Khema, ibid;
57. Rahula, op. cit. note 25.
58. J. Goldstein & J. Kornfield. 1987. Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc;
59. Keown, ibid;
60. Rahula, ibid.
61. Keown, ibid;
62. Rahula, ibid.
63. For some examples, see F.J. Varela & N. Depraz. 2003. Imagining: Embodiment, Phenomenology, and Transformation. In Buddhism and Science: Breaking New Ground. B.A. Wallace, ed. New York, NY: Columbia University Press: 217-221.
64. Bhikkhu Bodhi, ed. 2005. In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the P̄li Canon. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications.
65. S. Boucher. 1997. Opening the Lotus: A Woman's Guide to Buddhism. Boston, MA: Beacon Press;
66. Keown, op. cit. note 25;
67. Khema, op. cit. note 25.
68. Bhikkhu Bodhi, op. cit. note 33;
69. Khema, ibid.
70. Goldstein & Kornfield, op. cit. note 30;
71. Khema, ibid.
72. T. Gyatso. 2005. Essence of the Heart Sutra: The Dalai Lama's Heart of Wisdom Teachings. Geshe Thupten Jinpa, trans. & ed. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications;
73. Thich Nhat Hanh, op. cit. note 25;
74. Keown, op. cit. note 25.
75. This teaching is coupled with the teaching on no-self (or an̄tman) to yield a metaphysical outlook of a universe in constant flux, lacking any objects or individuals that possess an essence or essential, unchanging 'core'. See R. Gethin. 1998. The Foundations of Buddhism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press;
76. Keown, op. cit. note 25.
77. The teaching of anātman states that there is no soul or unchanging self underlying the empirical, changing self. See Keown, op. cit. note 25;
78. Khema, op. cit. note 25;
79. Rahula, op. cit. note 25.
80. Keown, ibid.
81. Boucher, op. cit. note 34;
82. Keown, ibid;
83. Khema, op. cit. note 25.
84. Boucher, ibid;
85. Khema, ibid.
86. See E. Conze, trans. & ed. 1959. Buddhist Scriptures. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
87. See Bhikkhu Bodhi, op. cit. note 33;
88. Dhammapada: The Path of Dhamma. Available at: http://www.accesstoinsight. org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/index.html. [Accessed 13 Apr 2007].
89. See W. T. de Bary, ed. 1972. The Buddhist Tradition in India, China and Japan. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
90. See Buddha Dharma Education Association 2007. Buddhist Art and Architecture. Online: Buddha Dharma Education Association. Available at: http://www.buddhanet.net/gallery.htm. [Accessed 13 Apr 2007]
91. Pacific Asia Museum. 2007. Visions of Enlightenment: Understanding the Art of Buddhism. Online: Pacific Asia Museum. Available at: http://www. pacificasiamuseum.org/buddhism/ [Accessed 13 Apr 2007].
92. S.N. Goenka. 1993/2003. Moral Conduct, Concentration, and Wisdom. In The Buddha and His Teachings. Samuel Bercholz & Sherab Chödzin Kohn, eds. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc: 101-108;
93. Goldstein & Kornfield, op. cit. note 30;
94. Khema, op. cit. note 25;
95. Rahula, op. cit. note 25.
96. Goenka, ibid;
97. Khema, ibid.
98. Goldstein & Kornfield, op. cit. note 30;
99. Khema, ibid.
100. Goldstein & Kornfield, op. cit. note 30;
101. Bhante Gunaratana. 2001. Mindfulness. In Voices of Insight. S. Salzberg, ed. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc: 133-142;
102. Khema, ibid.
103. Historically, more spectacular abilities were said to sometimes arise out of one's deepening skill in meditation. Some advanced practitioners were believed to possess such magical powers as invisibility, teleportation, telepathy and the like. These would-if they occurred-also qualify as enhancements. See Conze, op. cit. note 41.
104. Harvey, op. cit. note 3;
105. D. Keown. 2005. Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford University Press;
106. Rahula, op. cit. note 25.
107. J. Grimes. 1996. A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press: 121.
108. Ibid: 121
109. Keown, op. cit. note 25;
110. Rahula, op. cit. note 25.
111. Boucher, op. cit. note 34;
112. Gyatso, op. cit. note 37;
113. Keown, ibid.
114. Gyatso, ibid;
115. Thich Nhat Hanh, op. cit. note 25.
116. Boucher, op. cit. note 34.
117. Harvey, op. cit. note 3;
118. Keown, op. cit. note 50;
119. Rahula, op. cit. note 25.
120. See Harvey, ibid;
121. Keown, ibid.
122. Harvey, ibid.
123. For an instructive example, see Harvey, ibid.
124. Keown, op. cit. note 25.
125. Gyatso, op. cit. note 37
126. Keown, ibid
127. Rahula, op. cit. note 25.
128. Rahula, ibid.
129. See Bhikkhu, op. cit. note 33.
130. See Goldstein & Kornfield, op. cit. note 30;
131. Thich Nhat Hanh, op. cit. note 25.
132. The P̄li Canon, which is probably the earliest Buddhist canon of scripture, contains three basic divisions: (1) The S̄tra Pi aka, (2) the Vinaya Pi aka, and (3) the Abhidharma Pi aka. The Abhidharma Pi aka contains a systemization of Buddhist thought. See Grimes, op. cit. note 51.
133. The P̄li Canon, which is probably the earliest Buddhist canon of scripture, contains three basic divisions: (1) The S̄tra Pi aka, (2) the Vinaya Pi aka, and (3) the Abhidharma Pi aka. The Abhidharma Pi aka contains a systemization of Buddhist thought. See Grimes, op. cit. note 51. In the Abhidharma Pi aka you will find classifications of those constituents of mind that fall under form (or r̄pa skandha), feelings (or vedan̄ skandha), perception (or sa jñ̄ skandha), mental formations (or sa sk̄ra skandha) or consciousness (or vijñ̄na skandha). There are several Abhidharma traditions and so more than one way to divide up the constituents of mind that fall under the aforementioned skandhas. See Keown, op. cit. note 25.
134. Nyanaponika Thera. 1998 [1965]. Abhidhamma Studies: Buddhist Explorations of Consciousness and Time. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications and The Buddhist Publication Society.
135. rd edn. F. Eppsteiner, ed. Berkeley, CA. Parallax Press.
136. Or, to be precise, need not concern features of little interest to members of traditions or philosophical outlooks who reject karmic theory-i.e. non-Buddhists, non-Jains, non-Hindus, non-Sikhs, and non-Taoists.
137. Arguably, a parallel to the Buddhist idea of du kha in a Eurocentric philosophical framework is the existential awareness of lack in ordinary or mundane living. A not dissimilar sense of lack in many Christian traditions characterizes life without a saving relationship with God. These senses of lack nicely capture at least some of what Buddhists mean by 'du kha'.
138. Interestingly, sm ti literally means 'recollection' or 'remembering', clearly connecting the Buddhist notion of mindfulness with memory. See Grimes, op. cit. note 51.
139. Glannon writes: 'Working memory can be described as a short-term form of declarative memory. Declarative memory consists of semantic memory, which involves the ability to consciously recall concepts, facts, and numbers, and episodic memory, which involves the ability to consciously recall events.' Glannon, op. cit. note 1.
140. Glannon writes: 'Working memory can be described as a short-term form of declarative memory. Declarative memory consists of semantic memory, which involves the ability to consciously recall concepts, facts, and numbers, and episodic memory, which involves the ability to consciously recall events.' Glannon, op. cit. note 1. See also Glannon, op. cit. note 5.
141. Goldstein & Kornfield, op. cit. note 30.
142. Khema, op. cit. note 25.
143. This can go in another direction. By enhancing ordinary memory capacity, a Buddhist practitioner may find herself unable to make progress in 'self'-cultivation. Our forgetfulness may be an important trait that allows us to both learn and develop socially or morally. If we find ourselves unable to forget certain past events or propensities, we may find it difficult or impossible to advance beyond certain 'self'-conceptions or habits. This, too, would have a detrimental affect on Buddhist practice. For a discussion of some of these concerns in the literature, albeit from a 'secular' perspective, see Glannon, op. cit. note 1.
144. Gethin, op. cit. note 37;
145. P. Harvey. 1990. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press;
146. D. Keown 1996/2000. Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford University Press;
147. Khema, op. cit. note 25.
148. Keown, op. cit. note 3;
149. Harvey, ibid.
150. Harvey, ibid;
151. Keown, ibid;
152. Khema, op. cit. note 25.
153. A similar treatment of karma, though not particularly about end of life issues, can be found in Harvey, ibid.
154. Keown, op. cit. note 3.
155. Harvey, op. cit. note 74;
156. Keown, op. cit. note 50;
157. Khema, op. cit. note 25.
158. Thich Nhat Hanh, op. cit. note 67;
159. Harvey, ibid;
160. Khema, ibid.
161. See Harvey, ibid.
162. Harvey, Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, Ibid.
163. Harvey, Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, Ibid.
164. Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, 2003, Samuel Bercholz & Sherab Chödzin Kohn, eds. Ibid;
165. Samuel Bercholz & Sherab Chödzin Kohn, eds. 2003. The Buddha and His Teachings. Boston, MA. Shambhala Publications, Inc;
166. D.W. Mitchell. 2002. Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experience. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
167. P. Williams. 2001. Mah̄ȳna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. New York, NY: Routledge;
168. Gethin, op. cit. note 37;
169. Mitchell, ibid;
170. R.A. Ray. 2002. Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications Inc.
171. Gethin, ibid;
172. T. Gyatso (H.H. Dalai Lama). 1999. The Heart of the Buddha's Path. Geshe Thupten Jinpa, trans. London: Thorsons;
173. Thich Nhat Hanh, op. cit. note 25;
174. Harvey, op. cit. note 74;
175. Mitchell, ibid;
176. Nyanaponika Thera. 2003. Seeing Things as They Are. In The Buddha and His Teachings. Samuel Bercholz & Sherab Chödzin Kohn, eds. Boston, MA. Shambhala Publications, Inc: 84-85.
177. Gyatso, ibid;
178. Thich Nhat Hanh, op. cit. note 25;
179. Harvey, ibid.
180. Thich Nhat Hanh, op. cit. note 67.
181. The N̄land̄ Translation Committee. 2003. The Heart Sutra. In The Buddha and His Teachings. Samuel Bercholz & Sherab Chödzin Kohn, eds. Boston, MA. Shambhala Publications, Inc: 155.
182. T. Gyatso. 2005. Essence of the Heart Sutra: The Dalai Lama's Heart of Wisdom Teachings. Geshe Thupten Jinpa, trans. & ed. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications;
183. Harvey, op. cit. note 74;
184. Mitchell, op. cit. note 83;
185. Roshi Philip Kapleau. 1980. Zen: Dawn in the West. New York, NY: Anchor Books.