Conflicting Interests and New Frontiers: A Role for Virtue Ethics in Cutting Edge Brain Research with Humans

Drawing on this data, we argue that navigating ethical issues in cutting edge brain research requires a shift from focusing on promoting ethical guidelines to also promoting neuroethical competencies. More specifically, we argue that integrating the philosophical discipline of virtue ethics-which focuses on developing moral sensitivities, practical reasoning skills, and other ethical competencies-could provide better tools for addressing the ethical issues researchers face than regulations and rules alone. We conclude by suggesting two ways that neuroethicists and neuroscientists might move together towards a virtue ethical ideal: (i) promoting targeted neuroethics education and opportunities for participating in collective moral deliberation, and (ii) prioritizing engagement amongst researchers, ethicists, and study participants.