TY - JOUR
T1 - What we (Should) Talk about when we Talk about Deep Brain Stimulation and Personal Identity
AU - Bluhm, Robyn
AU - Cabrera, Laura
AU - McKenzie, Rachel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer Nature B.V.
PY - 2020/10/1
Y1 - 2020/10/1
N2 - A number of reports have suggested that patients who undergo deep brain stimulation (DBS) may experience changes to their personality or sense of self. These reports have attracted great philosophical interest. This paper surveys the philosophical literature on personal identity and DBS and draws on an emerging empirical literature on the experiences of patients who have undergone this therapy to argue that the existing philosophical discussion of DBS and personal identity frames the problem too narrowly. Much of the discussion by neuroethicists centers on the nature of the threat posed by DBS, asking whether it is best understood as a threat to personal identity, autonomy, agency, or authenticity, or as putting patients at risk of self-estrangement. Our aim in this paper is to use the empirical literature on patients’ experiences post-DBS to open up a broader range of questions - both philosophical and practical, and to suggest that attention to these questions will help to provide better support to patients, both before and after treatment.
AB - A number of reports have suggested that patients who undergo deep brain stimulation (DBS) may experience changes to their personality or sense of self. These reports have attracted great philosophical interest. This paper surveys the philosophical literature on personal identity and DBS and draws on an emerging empirical literature on the experiences of patients who have undergone this therapy to argue that the existing philosophical discussion of DBS and personal identity frames the problem too narrowly. Much of the discussion by neuroethicists centers on the nature of the threat posed by DBS, asking whether it is best understood as a threat to personal identity, autonomy, agency, or authenticity, or as putting patients at risk of self-estrangement. Our aim in this paper is to use the empirical literature on patients’ experiences post-DBS to open up a broader range of questions - both philosophical and practical, and to suggest that attention to these questions will help to provide better support to patients, both before and after treatment.
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U2 - 10.1007/s12152-019-09396-6
DO - 10.1007/s12152-019-09396-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85062847634
SN - 1874-5490
VL - 13
SP - 289
EP - 301
JO - Neuroethics
JF - Neuroethics
IS - 3
ER -