A Companion to the Philosophy of Technology

Neural Engineering

Neural engineering is a new field at the intersection of engineering and neuroscience that uses engineering techniques to study and manipulate the central or peripheral nervous systems. Its goals include the restoration and augmentation of human function. This is usually achieved via direct interactions between the nervous system and artificial devices. In neuroprosthetics, neural prostheses are developed that replace or improve neural function of an impaired nervous system. Another area of neural engineering is that of brain–computer interfaces, in which external computing devices are hooked up to the brain so that signals can be exchanged. Neural engineering also includes the development of brain implants for functional electrical stimulation of nervous tissue to restore function.

Besides involving controversial forms of animal and human subject research, neural engineering has raised ethical questions regarding the integrity and dignity of persons, as artificial neural devices may affect personal identity and make the human mind or brain partially artificial, thus turning humans into cyborgs. In addition, individual autonomy could be undermined as neural devices could be used to control cognition, mood and behavior. This also raises questions of responsibility: can humans still be held morally responsible for their behavior when their brain has been engineered by others to function in a certain way? The possibility of neuro-enhancement also raises significant ...