Sociology and Anthropology Seminar Series: Cynthia Forlini
The School of Humanities and Social Science Sociology and Anthropology Seminar Series presents Cynthia Forlini, an ARC DECRA Fellow at Sydney Health Ethics, University of Sydney. Cynthia will present Living in a ‘neuro-society’: A neuroethics perspective on the balance of social expectations and individual responsibilities.
As advances in neuroscience redefine health and illness, they also recast social practices and interactions. Neuroethics, a subfield of contemporary bioethics, examines the ethical and social issues that arise as these changes occur. In this talk, I use a neuroethics lens to present and discuss two examples where social expectations were adapted to reflect neuroscience evidence.
The first example focuses on issues of autonomy and coercion in the context of the non-medical use of prescription stimulants for cognitive enhancement. The second questions whether the lifestyle framing of healthy cognitive ageing is a fair and sustainable endeavor for our ageing population. Both examples illustrate how the integration of neuroscience into social practices emphasises an individual responsibility to optimize brain function across the lifespan.
Cynthia's work explores the neuroethical issues that arise as we redefine the boundaries between treatment, maintenance, and enhancement of cognitive performance. She has examined these issues conceptually and empirically as they relate to the use of neurotechnology in different contexts such as competitive academic environments, research, healthy cognitive ageing, and dementia prevention.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.