Human Brain Organoids and Consciousness
Human Brain Organoids and Consciousness
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DOI：
10.1007/s12152-022-09483-1
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发表时间：
2022-04-01
期刊：
影响因子：
1.4
通讯作者：
Sawai, Tsutomu
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Niikawa, Takuya;Hayashi, Yoshiyuki;Sawai, Tsutomu
本文提出了一种方法论模式，用于对人脑类器官（HBOs）的伦理问题进行富有成效的讨论，HBOs是使用人类多能干细胞创建的三维皮质神经组织。虽然对HBO的道德考量很大程度上涉及到他们有意识的可能性，但没有广泛接受的程序来确定HBO是否有意识。鉴于这种情况，有人认为，我们应该采取一个关于意识的预防原则，根据这一原则，如果我们不确定HBO是否有意识，如果将HBO视为没有意识可能会对他们造成伤害，我们应该继续假设他们有意识。本文强调了采用预防原则的方法论优势：它使我们能够回避HBO是否有意识的问题（是否问题），相反，直接解决HBO可以有什么样的意识体验的问题（什么样的问题），其中什么样的问题比是否问题更容易处理。通过解决什么样的问题（特别是HBO可以拥有什么样的有价值体验的问题），我们将能够研究HBO应该得到多少道德考虑。考虑到这一点，本文面对的是什么样的问题与意识的实验研究的协助下，并提出了一个道德框架，支持限制创建和使用的HBOs在生物科学。
This article proposes a methodological schema for engaging in a productive discussion of ethical issues regarding human brain organoids (HBOs), which are three-dimensional cortical neural tissues created using human pluripotent stem cells. Although moral consideration of HBOs significantly involves the possibility that they have consciousness, there is no widely accepted procedure to determine whether HBOs are conscious. Given that this is the case, it has been argued that we should adopt a precautionary principle about consciousness according to which, if we are not certain whether HBOs have consciousness-and where treating HBOs as not having consciousness may cause harm to them-we should proceed as if they do have consciousness. This article emphasizes a methodological advantage of adopting the precautionary principle: it enables us to sidestep the question of whether HBOs have consciousness (the whether-question) and, instead, directly address the question of what kinds of conscious experiences HBOs can have (the what-kind-question), where the what-kind-question is more tractable than the whether-question. By addressing the what-kind-question (and, in particular, the question of what kinds of valenced experiences HBOs can have), we will be able to examine how much moral consideration HBOs deserve. With this in mind, this article confronts the what-kind-question with the assistance of experimental studies of consciousness and suggests an ethical framework which supports restricting the creation and use of HBOs in bioscience.