Michael S. Gazzaniga
David T. McLaughlin Distinguished University ProfessorDartmouth College
April 14, 2005: McCosh 50 at 8:00pm
Personal Identity, Neuroethics and the Human Brain
Where is the little person in your brain that seems to call
the shots? Just as mysteriously, what is the cellular mechanism
that unleashes the triggers of gene expression? In short, how come we
feel personal identity and apparent agency even though our brains,
like our genes, are running automatically? Should any of these
realities change our moral sense and our desire for responsible
action? Modern brain science offers clues to these enduring
questions and suggests our brains are powerful adaptive systems that, working
in a social context, allow for all the human values we hold important. |
