Abstract
The question of legitimate and illegitimate interventions in the brain by means of neurotechnologies is the focus this chapter. The use of neurotechnologies is bound to expand. Therefore, it is crucial to establish up to which point society has the moral obligation to protect its citizens by “repairing or altering sick minds” to take early preventive measures and/or establish by coercion the diagnosis of psychopathy (and use the relative preventive interventions) in individuals with psychopathic traits but which are not yet considered criminals. Additionally, the extent to which psychopaths should be criminally responsible for their actions is examined.
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Notes
- 1.
Duff summarizes the behavior of the psychopath as follows: “He can … operate effectively in a range of contexts: he has desires, and can act to satisfy them; he can to some degree (if he cares to) imitate the discourse of those around him. However, he cannot participate in either the activities or the discourses (the forms of life, one could say) that are informed by such emotions and values: he cannot but be an outsider, whose point of view remains ‘external’ ” (Duff 2010, 209).
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Jotterand, F. (2022). Punishment, Responsibility, and Brain Interventions. In: The Unfit Brain and the Limits of Moral Bioenhancement. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9693-0_7
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