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Updated: May 13, 2026

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Published on: January 7, 2019

Human freedom and enhancement.

Jan-Christoph Heilinger¹, Katja Crone

¹Centre for Ethics (UFSP Ethics and Institute for Biomedical Ethics), University of Zurich, Pestalozzistr. 24, 8031, Zurich, Switzerland, heilinger@ethik.uzh.ch.

Medicine, Health Care, and Philosophy

|March 23, 2013

Summary

Moral debates on human enhancement are complicated by varied definitions of freedom. This paper clarifies distinct concepts of freedom, autonomy, and self-determination to enable a clearer ethical discussion on enhancement interventions.

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Area of Science:

Bioethics
Philosophy of Technology
Moral Philosophy

Background:

Freedom, autonomy, and self-determination are central to ethical discussions on human enhancement.
Conflicting interpretations of freedom lead to polarized arguments for and against enhancement.

Purpose of the Study:

To disentangle and classify the various concepts of freedom relevant to human enhancement.
To provide a structured framework for a clearer ethical debate on enhancement interventions.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of freedom, autonomy, and self-determination.
Classification of different dimensions of freedom.
Examination of the relationship between these concepts in the context of human enhancement.

Main Results:

Identified multiple, distinct concepts of freedom used in enhancement debates.
Demonstrated how these concepts are applied to support or oppose enhancement.
Highlighted the importance of distinguishing between different notions of freedom for clarity.

Conclusions:

A clear understanding of freedom's dimensions is crucial for resolving ethical disputes in human enhancement.
Individual factors and social conditions shaping choice and decision-making are key aspects of freedom in this debate.