Abstract
In reviewing the special ethical problems of treating patients with disorders of the nervous system or behavior, we encounter conflicts between values. Ruth Macklin (1982, 1983a,b) assures us that a philosopher expects many patient-care situations to involve built-in tensions among values. Frequently, for example, doctors will have to choose among standards which tend to increase the autonomy of the patient versus those which maximize the doctors’ expected medical benefit to the patient. Most importantly, Macklin (1983a,b) says, there are no philosophically final decision rules for choosing among values:There exists no purely philosophical, rational approach to logically closed arguments in these situations of value conflict.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Arezzo, J., and Vaughan, H. G., Jr. (1975). Cortical potentials associated with voluntary movements in the monkey. Brain Res. 88, 99–104.
Axelrod, R., and Hamilton, W. D. (1981). The evolution of cooperation. Science 211, 1390–1396.
Beer, C. (1983). Motives and metaphors in consideration of animal nature. In: Ethical Questions in Brain and Behavior: Problems and Opportunities. Springer-Verlag, New York, this volume, pp. 125–140.
Brown, J. (1983). Some paradoxical goals of cells and organisms: The role of MHC. In: Ethical Questions in Brain and Behavior: Problems and Opportunities. Springer-Verlag, New York, this volume, pp. 111–124.
Caplan, A. (1983). Out with the “old” and in with the “new”—The evolution and refinement of sociobiological theory. In: Ethical Questions in Brain and Behavior: Problems and Opportunities. Springer-Verlag, New York, this volume, pp. 91–109.
Dās, B. (1947). The Essential Unity of all Religions. 3rd ed. Ananda Publishing House, Benares.
Deecke, L., and Kornhuber, H. H. (1977). Cerebral potentials and the initiation of voluntary movement. In: Attention, voluntary contraction and event-related cerebral potentials. Progress in Clinical Neurophysiology (Desmedt, J. E., ed.), Vol. 1. Basel, Karger.
Evarts, E. V. (1972). Contrasts between activity of precentral and postcentral neurons of cerebral cortex during movement in the monkey. Brain Res. 40, 25–31.
Evarts, E. V. (1974). Precentral and postcentral cortical activity in association with visually triggered movement. J. Neurophysiol. 37, 373–381.
Evarts, E. V., and Tanji, J. (1976). Reflex and intended responses in motor cortex pyramidal tract neurons of monkey. J. Neurophysiol. 36, 1069–1080.
Held, R., and Freedman, S. J. (1963). Plasticity in human sensorimotor control. Science 142, 455–462.
Kluckhohn, C. (1949). The philosophy of Navajo indians. In: Ideological Differences and World Order (Northrop, F. S. C., ed.). Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut.
Kornhuber, H. H., and Deecke, L. (1965). Hirnpotentialänderungen bei Willkürbewegungen und passiven Bewegungen des Menschen: Bereitschaftspontential und reafferente Potentiale. Pflügers Arch. 284, 1–17.
Little, D., and Twiss, S. B., Jr. (1978). Comparative Religious Ethics. Harper & Row, New York.
Lumsden, C., and Wilson, E. O. (1981). Genes, Mind and Culture. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Macklin, R. (1982). Man, Mind and Morality. The Ethics of Behavior Control. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Macklin, R. (1983a). Problems of informed consent with the cognitively impaired. In: Ethical Questions in Brain and Behavior: Problems and Opportunities. Springer-Verlag, New York, this volume, pp. 23–40.
Macklin, R. (1983b). Treatment refusals: autonomy, paternalism, and the “best interest” of the patient. In: Ethical Questions in Brain and Behavior: Problems and Opportunities. Springer-Verlag, New York, this volume, pp. 41–56.
MacLean, P. D. (1949). Psychosomatic disease and the visceral brain. Psychosom. Med. 11, 338–353.
MacLean, P. D. (1967). The brain in relation to empathy and medical education. J. Nerv. Mental Dis. 144, 374–383.
Pfaff, D. W. (1980). Estrogens and Brain Function: Neural Analysis of a Hormone-Controlled Mammalian Reproductive Behavior. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Pfaff, D. W. (ed.) (1982). The Physiological Mechanisms of Motivation. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Sperry, R. W. (1972). Science and the problem of values. Perspect. Biol. Med. 16, 115–130.
Sperry, R. W. (1977). Bridging science and values. A unifying view of mind and brain. Am. Psychologist 32, 237–245.
Tanji, J., Taniguchi, K., and Saga, T. (1980). Suplementary motor area: Neuronal response to motor instructions. J. Neurophysiol. 43, 60–68.
Teuber, H.-L. (1960). Perception. In: Handbook of physiology. Section 1: Neurophysiology (Field, J., Magoun, H. W., Hall, and V. E., eds.), Vol. III. American Physiologial Society, Washington, D. C.
Vaughan, H. G., Jr., Costa, L. D., and Ritter, W. (1968). Topography of the human motor potential. Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol. 25, 1–10.
Vaughan, H. G., Jr., and Gross, E. G. (1970). Cortical motor potential in monkeys before and after upper limb deafferentation. Exp. Neurol. 26, 253–262.
Westermarck, E. A. (1912). The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas. MacMillan, London.
Wilson, E. O. (1975). Sociobiology. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Wilson, E. O. (1979). On Human Nature. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pfaff, D.W. (1983). Neurobiological Origins of Human Values. In: Pfaff, D.W. (eds) Ethical Questions in Brain and Behavior. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5590-1_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5590-1_10
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-5592-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-5590-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive