A guide on ethics and neuroscience

As scientists continue to explore how the brain works, using ever more sophisticated technology, it seems likely that new findings will radically alter the traditional understanding of human nature. One aspect of human nature already being questioned by recent developments in neuroscience is free will. Do our decisions arise from purely mechanistic processes? Is our feeling of self-control merely an illusion created by our brains? If so, what will become of free will and moral responsibility? In MY BRAIN MADE ME DO IT: THE RISE OF NEUROSCIENCE AND THE THREAT TO MORAL RESPONSIBILITY (Prometheus Books, $21) author Eliezer J. Sternberg attempts to answer these thorny questions and more.

"At some point in our lives, we get puzzled about how we can be held responsible for actions seemingly initiated by brain chemistry. My Brain Made Me Do It is a terrific guide for those who are ready to confront this puzzle in its full scientific and philosophical complexity," said Jerry Samet, associate professor of philosophy and cognitive science at Brandeis University. "It clearly explains the fascinating scientific advances in our understanding of the brain-behavior connection and carefully considers their relevance to the free will question-making these complicated theoretical issues come alive in vivid case studies."

Sternberg delves into a host of fascinating topics related to neuroscience and ethics, including:

• the parts of the brain that scientists believe are involved in the exercise of will
• what Parkinson's, Tourette's, and schizophrenia reveal about our ability to control our actions
• whether a future of criminal behavior is determined by brain chemistry
• how self-reflective consciousness may have evolved from a largely deterministic brain

Using illustrative examples from philosophy, mythology, history, and criminology, and with thorough discussions of actual scientific experiments, Sternberg explores the threat of neuroscience to moral responsibility as he attempts to answer the question: Are we truly in control of our actions? MY BRAIN MADE ME DO IT is an "impressively clear account of what neuroscience tells us about the workings of the brain, and its implications for the issue of free will-" says BBC Focus magazine, in a five-star review. "A masterful study of [the] interface between science and philosophy which will undoubtedly get you thinking."

"Blending Dostoyevsky with neuroscience-[this] is a provocative defense of free will and moral responsibility. It repudiates the chemical determinism of mainstream scientists," said Nigel Barber, author of Kindness in a Cruel World and The Myth of Culture: Why We Need a Genuine Natural Science of Societies.

Adds Michael Ruse, author of Defining Darwin, "Whether or not you agree with the author, you will come away challenged and informed."