Moving the Discussion Forward—Empirically

摘要

Lawrence and colleagues (2019) provide much-needed data in a topic area that is arguably overcrowded with ethical speculation but seldom populated by empirical data. The authors redirect us to the present: a present that is often neglected when we speculate about the future implications of deep brain stimulation (DBS) (Lawrence et al. 2019). To begin this commentary, I commend Lawrence and colleagues for bringing to the fore a number of empirically grounded ethical questions about DBS. In the following paragraphs I expand slightly on some of these issues with a view to opening up dialogue as to how to carry out empirically driven ethical discussion while not losing sight of the role of bioethics in addressing the potential uses and abuses of new technologies. Although not all of the following ethical issues are made explicit or explored in detail their work—a limitation, not a critique—Lawrence and colleagues’ article is rich with ethical issues.