Cognitive Diversity and Moral Enhancement

Journal article

One debate in contemporary bioethics centers on whether the development of cognitive enhancement technologies (CETs) will hasten the need for moral enhancement. In this article we provide a new argument in favor of pursuing these enhancement technologies together. The widespread availability of CETs will likely increase population-level cognitive diversity. Different people will choose to enhance different aspects of their cognition, and some won’t enhance themselves at all. Although this has the potential to be beneficial for society, it could also result in harms as people become more different from one another. Aspects of our moral psychology make it difficult for people to cooperate and coordinate actions with those who are very different from themselves. These moral failings could be targeted by moral enhancement technologies, which may improve cooperation among individuals. Moral enhancement technologies will therefore help society maximize the benefits, and reduce the costs, associated with widespread access to cognitive enhancements.

Authors: Gyngell, C; Easteal, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Journal: Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 01
• Pages: 66-74
• Publication date: 2015-01-01
• DOI: 10.1017/S0963180114000310
• EISSN: 1469-2147
• ISSN: 0963-1801
• Keywords: collective problem solving; cognitive enhancement; cognitive diversity; moral enhancement; empathy gap