enhancement drugs A couple of weeks ago I posted some musings about “the self” in anticipation of being on a panel with Steven Pinker (author of The Blank Slate and The Stuff of Thought) and Noga Arikha (author of Passions and Tempers: A History of the Humours) at Tufts University. The panel, convened by Jonathan Wilson, was titled “The New Biology and the Self,” and what follows was my contribution. The graduate student referred to is Monica Chau of Emory University.
I told a very smart neurobiology graduate student named Monica yesterday that I’d been asked to speak on “The New Biology and the Self.” She said, “What’s the new biology?” I said, “I don’t know, but that’s the least of my problems. What’s the self?” (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘enhancement drugs’
The “New Biology” and “The Self”
Sunday, November 15th, 2009 by Mel KonnerWhat is “the Self”?
Monday, November 2nd, 2009 by Mel KonnerAnd assuming we can answer that, how is science changing it?
Big philosophical concepts bother me, but I am expected later this week at Tufts University, where I’ll be on a panel discussing “The New Biology and the Self.” So I need to get over my reluctance to talk about the self. And it’s not the only big idea that gives me trouble.
Consciousness and free will are two other notions (more…)
Morning Joe, Evening Jack
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 by Mel KonnerWhat Do Bioethicists Do?
Saturday, July 19th, 2008 by Mel KonnerWant to make your life better with the help of medical technology? It might be between you, your doctor, and the President’s Council on Bioethics.
Bioethics has become a booming industry, and it goes way beyond conventional medical ethics. But what exactly do bioethicists do? Are they just a bunch of self-appointed moralists who want to tell everybody what to do? Are they representatives of particular churches or religions?
A year or so ago (more…)
