Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Cognitivism

Cognitivism

Cognitive psychology emerged as a significant field in the mid-20th century. It focused on understanding humans' internal mental processes. This approach emphasizes how people perceive, remember, think, and solve problems—elements critical to human cognition.
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process information is...

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the human psyche...

Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists

Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists

Cognitive enhancers, also known as "smart drugs," are substances used to enhance memory, mental alertness, and concentration. These can be natural or synthetic and improve cognition in conditions like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Some common examples include caffeine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, modafinil, arecoline, donepezil, vortioxetine, and piracetam. These enhancers work on the principle of synaptic plasticity and altered circuit function. They...

Ethics and Bioethics

Ethics and Bioethics

Ethics is a philosophical study of moral actions. Ethics attempts to determine what is valuable for individuals and society. It examines the rational justification of moral judgments and analyzes what is morally just, fair, and right. Bioethics is a sub-discipline of applied ethics that analyzes the philosophical, social, and legal issues in life sciences and medicine. Ethical theories serve as a foundation for decision-making and represent the viewpoints from which people seek direction. They...

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology is the field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think. It attempts to explain how and why we think the way we do by studying the interactions among human thinking, emotion, creativity, language, and problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes. Cognitive psychology studies how information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing.
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Curiosity as a metacognitive feeling.

Cognition·2022

Same author

Memory Monitoring and Control in Japanese and German Preschoolers.

Memory & cognition·2021

Same author

Metacognition and mindreading in young children: A cross-cultural study.

Consciousness and cognition·2020

Same author

12- and 24-Month-Old Infants' Search Behavior Under Informational Uncertainty.

Frontiers in psychology·2020

Same author

An ERP study on metacognitive monitoring processes in children.

Brain research·2018

Same author

Selective learning and teaching among Japanese and German children.

Developmental psychology·2017

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 25, 2026

High-definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex to Enhance Metacognitive Sensitivity

High-definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex to Enhance Metacognitive Sensitivity

Published on: September 26, 2025

Cognitive enhancement, human evolution and bioethics.

Joëlle Proust¹

¹Institut Jean-Nicod, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris. jproust@ehess.fr

Journal International De Bioethique = International Journal of Bioethics

|January 14, 2012

Summary

This study explores human, post-human, and transhuman concepts and their relation to cognitive enhancement technologies. It examines the ethical implications and compatibility of current enhancements with established ethical principles.

More Related Videos

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Published on: September 28, 2018

Introducing Clicker Training as a Cognitive Enrichment for Laboratory Mice

Introducing Clicker Training as a Cognitive Enrichment for Laboratory Mice

Published on: March 6, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 25, 2026

High-definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex to Enhance Metacognitive Sensitivity

High-definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex to Enhance Metacognitive Sensitivity

Published on: September 26, 2025

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Published on: September 28, 2018

Introducing Clicker Training as a Cognitive Enrichment for Laboratory Mice

Introducing Clicker Training as a Cognitive Enrichment for Laboratory Mice

Published on: March 6, 2017

Area of Science:

Bioethics
Philosophy of Technology
Human Enhancement Studies

Background:

The concepts of human, post-human, and transhuman are central to contemporary philosophical and ethical debates.
Cognitive enhancement technologies are rapidly developing, raising questions about their impact on human identity and societal values.

Purpose of the Study:

To clarify the relationships between "human," "post-human," and "transhuman" concepts and their associated ideologies.
To scrutinize current cognitive enhancement techniques, their ethical issues, and their alignment with these concepts.
To evaluate the ethical permissibility of post- and transhumanist proposals using general ethical principles.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of philosophical terms related to human enhancement.
Ethical assessment of existing cognitive enhancement technologies.
Application of general ethical principles to normative proposals in post- and transhumanism.

Main Results:

Defines and differentiates key concepts: human, post-human, transhuman, and their respective ideologies.
Identifies specific ethical challenges posed by current cognitive enhancement methods.
Assesses the compatibility of emerging enhancements with established ethical frameworks.

Conclusions:

The study provides a framework for understanding human enhancement debates.
It highlights the need for careful ethical consideration of cognitive technologies.
Findings inform ongoing discussions on the future of humanity and technological integration.