Neuroethics, Justice and Autonomy: Public Reason in the Cognitive Enhancement Debate

List of abbreviations.- Acknowledgments.- Abstract.- 1. Introduction.- 1.1. The political approach: Beyond utilitarianism and nonpublic reasons - public reason, autonomy and justice in neuroethics.- 1.2. The outcomes: Extension of Rawls' theory of justice in the practical account of public policy on cognitive enhancement.- 1.3. Research questions and the structure of the book.- 2. Conceptual and methodological foundations.- 2.1. Rawls' political philosophy.- 2.2. Principles of justice as criteria for assessing cognitive enhancement of healthy adults - perspectives and counterarguments.- 2.3. Coercion and compulsion: the political and not metaphysical principle of autonomy in neuroethics.- 3. Psycho-pharmacological cognitive enhancements.- 3.1. Cognition-enhancement drugs: General issues.- 3.2. The case of Ritalin (Methylphenidate).- 3.3. The case of Adderall (Amphetamine).- 4. Electro-magnetic enhancements of cognition.- 4.1. Cognition-enhancement devices: General issues.- 4.2. The case of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).- 4.3. The case of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).- 5. Analysis of objections.- 5.1. Objections to the general approach.- 5.2. Could there be a convergence between liberals, socialists and conservatives on policy concerning cognitive enhancement? Objections to the idea of public reason.- 5.3. Specific objections to the argument and policy proposals.- 6. Conclusions.- Index.