Cognitive Enhancement - Social and Public Policy Issues

Rapid advances in cognitive neuroscience and converging technologies have led to a vigorous debate over cognitive enhancement. This book outlines the ethical and social issues, but goes on to focus on the policy dimensions, which until now have received much less attention. As the economic, social and personal stakes involved with cognitive enhancement are so high, and the advances in knowledge so swift, we are likely to see increasing demands for government involvement in cognitive enhancement techniques. The book therefore places these techniques in a political context and brings the subsequent considerations and divisions to the forefront of the debate, situating their resolution within the milieu of interest group politics. The book will provide a starting point from which readers can develop a balanced policy framework for addressing such concerns.

Robert H. Blank is Adjunct Professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Among his previous academic positions were Chair of Public Policy at Brunel University in West London, UK and frequent guest professorships at Aarhus University, Denmark and National Taiwan University, Taiwan. He has also held residential fellowships at Vanderbilt University, USA, Stanford University, USA, Indiana University, USA, and the Medical University of South Carolina, USA. He has taught, lectured and written widely in the areas of comparative health policy, medical technology assessment, and biomedical ethics/policy. Among his many books are Brain Policy and Intervention in the Brain: Politics and Policy.