Brain, Neurotechnology and Ethics

Abstract

In the article we describe the genetic-evolutionary and civilizational mechanisms that constantly, albeit on different time scales, shape the structure and functions of the brain. In the last millennia neuroplasticity has become an ever more important mechanism for faster adaptations, particularly with the emergence of great technological and cultural breakthroughs (invention of writing, the Internet) leading to the reorganization of brain structures and to a new mind. The introduction of new neurotechnologies which enable us to dramatically and rapidly change our brain functions in health and disease and to create an interface between the brain and a computer challenges humans with big questions on the essence of being human and on further development and destiny. This is precisely why there is an urgent need for a new ethics, which must (pro)actively help in delineating the often-blurred and fuzzy border between the knowledge of what is possible and a wise use of such knowledge, perhaps in the spirit of recta ratio speculabilium, recta ratio agibilium.