The Journal of medicine and philosophy
February 1, 2009
Guy Kahane, Julian Savulescu
126 citations
Neuroimaging suggests some vegetative-state patients may be conscious, which might seem to reinforce the moral duty to preserve life. However, the authors question this assumption by clarifying the principle that consciousness is morally significant. They argue that the relevant notion is phenomenal consciousness, and that its presence could actually provide stronger moral reasons not to preserve a patient's life, especially when cognitive function is retained.
Progress in brain research
January 1, 2009
Neil Levy, Julian Savulescu
62 citations
Neuroimaging evidence suggests that some patients diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state are actually conscious. This paper critically examines that evidence, arguing that while alternative interpretations remain possible, it strongly suggests consciousness in some patients. However, the ethical significance is less than often assumed. Different kinds of consciousness have different moral weight: phenomenal consciousness (qualitative feel) makes patients moral patients whose welfare matters, but only access consciousness (global availability of information to cognitive systems) confers personhood with full moral status. Further research is needed to determine whether these patients possess the sophisticated access consciousness required for personhood.
European journal of cell biology
March 1, 2025
Masanori Kataoka, Takuya Niikawa, Naoya Nagaishi et al.
22 citations
Human brain organoid research raises a range of ethical, legal, and social issues that extend beyond the widely discussed possibility of consciousness. These issues differ depending on whether the organoids are used for in vitro research, transplanted into non-human animals, or applied in biocomputing. Navigating this complex landscape requires a multidisciplinary approach that integrates ethical, legal, and social perspectives.
AJOB Neuroscience
February 5, 2024
Julian D Sandbrink, Kyle Johnson, Maureen Gill et al.
13 citations
A nationally representative sample of 795 US Americans rated the moral status of psilocybin use in a licensed setting as morally positive for both treating a psychiatric condition and enhancing well-being, showing strong bipartisan support. These attitudes can inform policy-making around supervised psilocybin use. The study did not explore attitudes toward unsupervised or non-licensed use.
Bioethics
March 1, 2025
Emma C Gordon, Katherine Cheung, Julian Savulescu et al.
8 citations
A common objection to cognitive or athletic enhancement is that using drugs or technologies to improve performance 'cheapens' the resulting achievement. This paper extends that objection to moral enhancement—using biotechnology to become a morally better person. The authors argue that if the cheapened-achievement objection holds for cognitive or athletic enhancement, it can also apply to some forms of moral enhancement, but not all. Highly speculative or determinative technologies might diminish the value of moral self-improvement. However, more practical forms—where drugs or technologies play an adjunctive or facilitative role, such as psychedelics in moral learning, 'Socratic AI,' or empathy enhancement via virtual reality—largely evade the objection, assuming those technologies work as intended. The most promising forms of moral enhancement thus avoid a leading critique of other enhancements.
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
September 2, 2025
Khaleel Rajwani, Edward Jacobs, Lori Bruce et al.
6 citations
A scoping review of medical literature from 2000 to 2025 found no completed or published clinical trials testing psychedelic-assisted therapy in adolescents under 18, despite three trial registrations and one trial plan. The proposed studies would have investigated MDMA-assisted or psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder, autism with social anxiety, or self-harm. Ethical approval and recruitment details were inconsistently reported. This absence of data represents a major evidence gap that could hinder informed care. The authors argue for cautious, ethically grounded research starting with older adolescents who have the highest foreseeable benefit-risk ratio due to special circumstances.
Philosophical Psychology
September 8, 2025
Mina Caraccio, Katherine Cheung, Sebastian Porsdam Mann et al.
3 citations
As interest in psychedelics like psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA revives and their legal status changes in many places, ethical guidelines are urgently needed for both medical and non-medical use. This paper argues that focusing only on medical applications neglects potentially valuable uses in other contexts and raises ethical issues including hype, exceptionalism, informed consent, therapeutic touch, data collection, and balancing access with safety. The authors call for renewed attention to the treatment-versus-enhancement distinction from bioethics and stress that guidelines should be flexible and context-sensitive. They recommend incorporating diverse stakeholder perspectives and cross-sector collaboration in future research and policy for psychedelic bioethics.
Wellcome Open Research
July 8, 2025
Khaleel Rajwani, Melanie Almonte, F. Feroz et al.
2 citations
A protocol describes a planned scoping review to determine whether any controlled clinical research involving psychedelic drug administration to adolescents under 18 has been conducted since 2000. The review will follow established methodological guidelines, searching multiple databases and trial registers for interventional studies from 2000 to the present. Two independent raters will assess articles, with a third resolving disagreements. The protocol notes that while historical studies from 1959 to 1974 exist, they do not meet modern standards, and no recent controlled clinical research with adolescents is known.
Wellcome Open Res
January 13, 2025
Samuel Streicher, Christopher Register, Xiu Lim et al.
2 citations
A protocol is described for a scoping review that will map ethical arguments for and against the voluntary use of psychedelics as moral bioenhancers. The review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, searching multiple databases for published and unpublished sources that present explicit ethical arguments. Sources focused primarily on clinical treatment or unavailable in English will be excluded. Two independent raters will assess eligibility, with disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. Data will be charted and analyzed following PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
Sci Eng Ethics
February 5, 2024
Masanori Kataoka, Christopher Gyngell, Julian Savulescu et al.
The donation of human biological material for brain organoid research raises ethical problems concerning consciousness and consent. The text examines these issues, arguing that the possibility of organoids developing consciousness complicates the informed consent process for donors. It explores the moral implications and the need for updated consent frameworks to address the unique challenges posed by this emerging technology.