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Updated: Aug 25, 2025

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses
Published on: January 7, 2019
Autonomy, procedural and substantive: a discussion of the ethics of cognitive enhancement
Igor D Bandeira1, Enzo Lenine2
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, 94305, Stanford, CA, USA. igordbandeira@gmail.com.
Abstract:
As cognitive enhancement research advances, important ethical questions regarding individual autonomy and freedom are raised. Advocates of cognitive enhancement frequently adopt a procedural approach to autonomy, arguing that enhancers improve an individual's reasoning capabilities, which are quintessential to being an autonomous agent. On the other hand, critics adopt a more nuanced approach by considering matters of authenticity and self-identity, which go beyond the mere assessment of one's reasoning capacities. Both positions, nevertheless, require further philosophical scrutiny. In this paper, we investigate the ethics of cognitive enhancement through the lenses of political and philosophical arguments about autonomy and freedom. In so doing, we contend that a substantive, relational account of individual autonomy offers a more holistic understanding of the ethical concerns of cognitive enhancement.
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