Neuroethics

Neuroethics refers to the research on ethics done within the field of neuroscience. Neuroethics can also refer to the ethical issues that may arise in the research and study of neuroscience. Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system and the brain.

The field of neuroethics is relatively new, and its findings are far from settled. It examines the brain in relationship to questions like “Is there free will?” and “Is the human moral sense innate, or in other words, ‘hardwired’ in the brain?”

Research in neuroscience shows that the way the brain is wired has much to do with how and why people make moral decisions. In fact, neuroscience shows that a network of various regions of the brain is consistently involved in moral decision-making.

So, while ethics and morality were once exclusively within the province of philosophers and theologians, future research in neuroscience may contribute greatly to the resolution of key questions in these areas.