Developing an ‘ethics for neuroscientists’ course: between emancipation, practicality, and postmodernity in educational action research

Abstract

With the advances in neuroscience in the twenty-first century, there is an increased risk that this research could be used for non-peaceful purposes by state or non-state actors. The latter issue is generally referred to as the dual-use problem, which has created a heated debate among scientists and security experts about the duties and responsibilities of researchers where each side is reluctant to engage with the other in a cooperative manner. In order to break this stalemate, a project on how to improve ethics education for neuroscientists was carried out which led to the development of an open access, online 12-lecture module. This article discusses how the project followed an action research methodology. While theory proposes that action research can either deliver on a practical level or enable emancipation, the article will discuss how this research project managed to accomplish both. Furthermore, it draws on a critique of emancipation in the form of postmodern theory to discuss the emergence of power and its application.

Keywords:

• Action research
• biosecurity
• emancipation
• dual-use
• neuroethics
• postmodernism

Disclosure statement

The author of this study has research support from the Wellcome Trust [grant WT087351AIA]. This support has no implications for the research findings.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust [grant WT087351AIA].