Deep Brain Stimulation, Authenticity and Value
Pugh Jonathan, Maslen Hannah & Savulescu Julian
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 26 (4):640-657 (2017)
Deep brain stimulation has been of considerable interest to bioethicists, in large part because of the effects that the intervention can occasionally have on central features of the recipient's personality. These effects raise questions regarding the philosophical concept of authenticity. In this article, we expand on our earlier work on the concept of authenticity in the context of deep brain stimulation by developing a diachronic, value-based account of authenticity. Our account draws on both existentialist and essentialist approaches to authenticity, and Laura Waddell Ekstrom's coherentist approach to personal autonomy. In developing our account, we respond to Sven Nyholm and Elizabeth O'Neill's synchronic approach to authenticity, and explain how the diachronic approach we defend can have practical utility, contrary to Alexandre Erler and Tony Hope's criticism of autonomy-based approaches to authenticity. Having drawn a distinction between the authenticity of an individual's traits and the authenticity of that person's values, we consider how our conception of authenticity applies to the context of anorexia nervosa in comparison to other prominent accounts of authenticity. We conclude with some reflections on the prudential value of authenticity, and by highlighting how the language of authenticity can be invoked to justify covert forms of paternalism that run contrary to the value of individuality that seems to be at the heart of authenticity.
Deep Brain Stimulation Authenticity Anorexia Nervosa Well-Being Autonomy
Autonomy in Applied Ethics in Applied Ethics
Biotechnology Ethics in Applied Ethics
Informed Consent in Medicine in Applied Ethics
Neuroethics in Applied Ethics
Psychiatric Ethics in Applied Ethics
PUGDBS
"I Am Who I Am": On the Perceived Threats to Personal Identity From Deep Brain Stimulation. [REVIEW]Baylis, Françoise
Moral Enhancement: Do Means Matter Morally?Focquaert, Farah & Schermer, Maartje
The Ethics of Deep Brain Stimulation for the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa.Maslen, Hannah; Pugh, Jonathan & Savulescu, Julian
Autonomy and Authenticity of Enhanced Personality Traits.Bublitz, Jan Christoph & Merkel, Reinhard
Autonomy and Authenticity of Enhanced Personality Traits.Bublitz, Janchristoph
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Is the Personal Identity Debate a "Threat" to Neurosurgical Patients? A Reply to Müller Et Al.Nyholm, Sven
Assessing Enhancement Technologies: Authenticity as a Social Virtue and Experiment.Iftode, Cristian
Deep Brain Stimulation, Authenticity and Value—CORRIGENDUM.Pugh, Jonathan; Maslen, Hannah & Savulescu, Julian
Of Meatballs, Autonomy, and Human Dignity: Neuroethics and the Boundaries of Decision Making Among Persons with Dementia.Lavazza, Andrea & Reichlin, Massimo
The Need for Further Fine-Grained Distinctions in Discussions of Authenticity and Deep Brain Stimulation.Pugh, Jonathan; Maslen, Hannah & Savulescu, Julian