What are the Relationships between STS and Empirical Ethics? A Panel Discussion on Neuroethics

Session Submission Type: Traditional (Closed) Panel

Abstract

Ethics and social science have a shared history and origin. Many pioneering figures in disciplines like economics, political science, and sociology (e.g., Bentham, Mill, Smith, Durkheim, Weber) had much to say about philosophical and ethical aspects of economic activity, society, and politics. However, with time, these disciplines have specialized such that the connections to more philosophical questions have become less apparent and, in return, philosophical ethics has tended to ignore scholarship emerging from relevant social science research. This disconnect is clearly apparent in modern discussions about “empirical ethics” and “empirical bioethics”, sometimes described as the “empirical turn” in bioethics and the ethics of science and technology. Scholars active in this area are revisiting the relationships between ethics, as a more normative discipline, and the social sciences. However, there are fundamental theoretical, methodological, and practical questions surfacing about the relationship between social studies of science and the ethics of science. Neuroethics (or the ethical study of neuroscience) is a nascent field that has embraced the empirical turn in a way that attempts to bridge the divide between the social and ethical studies of science. This panel will explore some of the key theoretical, methodological, and practical questions about the relationship between social studies of science and the ethics of science. These developments have important implications for how STS scholars and philosopher/ethicists may be able to work together to tackle questions pertinent to both fields, and highlight potential challenges.

Sub Unit

• Closed Panels

Discussant

• Stacy Carter, University of Wollongong

Individual Presentations

• Ethics and the social studies of science in neuroethics - Eric Racine, Institut De Recherches Cliniques De Montréal

• A practical and ethical analysis of incorporating patient preferences into dementia research policy and practice - Cynthia Forlini, University of Sydney

• A Technological Fix? Patient-testimonies of neurostimulation on YouTube - John Grant Gardner, Monash University, Australia; Narelle Warren, Monash University; Courtney Addison, Victoria University of Wellington

• An empirical study of the ethical and policy implications of promoting a food addiction understanding of overweight and obesity - Adrian Carter, Monash University

• Deflating the "Neurostimulation causes personality changes" bubble - Frederic Gilbert, University of Washington & University of Tasmania; John Viana, University of Tasmania; Christian Ineichen, University of Zurich

Session Organizer

• Eric Racine, Institut De Recherches Cliniques De Montréal