Consciousness and the Ethics of Human Brain Organoid Research.
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics March 23, 2023 Karola V Kreitmair
The moral status of human brain organoids is often tied to whether they possess consciousness, with the degree of consciousness determining the level of research protections they deserve. This view aligns with a common neurological stance that consciousness admits of degrees. The author argues that this correlation between degrees of consciousness and moral status is mistaken. An alternative account of how moral status relates to consciousness is offered, along with the epistemic implications for research protections that follow from this revised view.