title: Cognitive enhancement, cheating, and accomplishment.
abstract: An ethics of enhancement should not rest on blanket judgments; it should ask us to distinguish between the kinds of activities we want to enhance. Both students and academics have turned to cognition-enhancing drugs in significant numbers--but is their enhancement a form of cheating? The answer should hinge on whether the activity subject to enhancement is zero-sum or non-zero-sum, and whether one is more concerned with excellence in process or excellence in outcome. Cognitive enhancement should be especially tolerated when the activities at stake are non-zero-sum and when the importance of process is outweighed by the importance of outcome. The use of cognition-enhancing drugs does not unnaturally cheapen accomplishments achieved under their influence; instead, cognitive enhancement is in line with well-established conceptions of collaborative authorship, which shift the locus of praise and blame from individual creators to the ultimate products of their efforts.
authors.affiliation: George Washington University, USA.
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goodman
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000941:ethics; D003071:Cognition / Q000941:ethics; D008192:Deception; D003913:Dextroamphetamine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000077408:Modafinil; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012938:Social Perception; D028722:Virtues
chemical_list: D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D018697:Nootropic Agents; D008774:Methylphenidate; D000077408:Modafinil; D003913:Dextroamphetamine