Mazor, Matan;
Brown, Simon;
Ciaunica, Anna;
Demertzi, Athena;
Fahrenfort, Johannes;
Faivre, Nathan;
Francken, Jolien C;
... Lubianiker, Nitzan; + view all
(2022)
The Scientific Study of Consciousness Cannot and Should Not Be Morally Neutral.
Perspectives on Psychological Science
10.1177/17456916221110222.
(In press).
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Abstract
A target question for the scientific study of consciousness is how dimensions of consciousness, such as the ability to feel pain and pleasure or reflect on one’s own experience, vary in different states and animal species. Considering the tight link between consciousness and moral status, answers to these questions have implications for law and ethics. Here we point out that given this link, the scientific community studying consciousness may face implicit pressure to carry out certain research programs or interpret results in ways that justify current norms rather than challenge them. We show that because consciousness largely determines moral status, the use of nonhuman animals in the scientific study of consciousness introduces a direct conflict between scientific relevance and ethics—the more scientifically valuable an animal model is for studying consciousness, the more difficult it becomes to ethically justify compromises to its well-being for consciousness research. Finally, in light of these considerations, we call for a discussion of the immediate ethical corollaries of the body of knowledge that has accumulated and for a more explicit consideration of the role of ideology and ethics in the scientific study of consciousness.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Scientific Study of Consciousness Cannot and Should Not Be Morally Neutral |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1177/17456916221110222 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221110222 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Social Sciences, Psychology, Multidisciplinary, Psychology, allied field, philosophy, application, policy, comparative psychology, consciousness, ethics, metascience, SELF-RECOGNITION, MODEL, ANIMALS, MEAT, MIND |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Imaging Neuroscience |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10161217 |
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