#776 Adina Roskies: Neuroimaging Studies, Neuroethics, and Free Will
RECORDED ON JANUARY 12th 2022.
Dr. Adina Roskies is The Helman Family Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Cognitive Science Program at Dartmouth College. She is affiliated faculty with Psychological and Brain Sciences. Dr. Roskies’ philosophical research interests lie at the intersection of philosophy and neuroscience, and include philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and ethics. She was a member of the McDonnell Project in Neurophilosophy, and the MacArthur Law and Neuroscience Project. Awards include the William James Prize and the Stanton Prize, awarded by the Society of Philosophy and Psychology, a Mellon New Directions Fellowship, and the Laurance S. Rockefeller Visiting Faculty Fellowship from the Princeton University Center for Human Values.
In this episode, we talk about neuroimaging studies, neuroethics, and free will. Starting with neuroimaging, we discuss the information we can get from it; what brain activity means; and what neuroscience adds to the study of human behavior. We then get into neuroethics, and talk about agency, going through an example of deep brain stimulation applied to alleviating Parkinson’s Disease; criteria for medical interventions; neuroscience in the courtroom; and moral responsibility. We also discuss issues with how scientists approach free will, including Robert Sapolsky’s approach; conditions where people lack free will; if free will can exist without consciousness; and the idea of “free won’t”.
Time Links:
Intro
What information can we get from neuroimaging studies?
What does brain activity really mean?
What does neuroscience add to the study of human behavior?
Questions in neuroethics
Agency, and the example of deep brain stimulation applied to Parkinson’s Disease
Criteria for (legal) medical interventions
Neuroscience in the courtroom
Moral responsibility
How to tackle the question of free will
Robert Sapolsky’s approach to free will and behavior
Conditions where people lack free will
Can free will exist without consciousness?
The idea of “free won’t”
Follow Dr. Roskies’ work!
Follow Dr. Roskies’ work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3Bkdwr2
PhilPeople profile: https://bit.ly/3x2799c