Criminal Behavior and the Ethics of Biological Intervention - Article Example

R.G. Weyant "Criminal behavior and the ethics of biological intervention". Humanist. Sept-Oct 2005. FindArticles.com. 06 Nov. 2006. http www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_5_65/ai_n15890740 SYNOPSIS Weyant's article, "Criminal Behavior and the Ethics of Biological Intervention" discusses the scientific and technological developments that have been made in the past decades in the field of Brain Research. The article's main scientific focus lies on the interconnection between the human brain and human behavior. Basically, the human brain has often been percieved as the source of all cognitive processes, but there has always been a general misconception that human behavior and human emotions were dictated by other metaphysical factors such as the human soul or spirit. We have always been hesitant to accept the notion that complex feelings and behavior could be attributed directly to the biochemical and physical condition of our brains. Recent developments in brain research, however, have come to very convincingly indicate that human behavior may also be completely controlled by the human brain. The main point of recent discoveries in this field has basically been that all human emotions and human behavior can be traced back to the human brain and to the neural impulses which occur between brain neurons. The article also briefly explains how the brain's electrochemical mechanism works in altering behavior and moods. It talks of the different neurotransmitters that are naturally secreted in the human brain and are then also responsible for changes in a person's mood. There are specific neurotransmitters which are responsible for different emotions and behaviors rangings from ecstacy to fear and anger, and the secretion of these neurotransmitters may be triggered eithere through chemical changes in the body, or through environmental stimuli. Mental illnesses have also been found to generally be accompanied by imbalances in the secretion of these neurotransmitters. Based on the developments that have been made in the field of brain research, it has thus become possible for scientists and psychotherapists to produce new methods in altering a person's behavior. Most of the more common methods have centered largely on the artificial reproduction of neurotransmitters found in the human brain for the purpose of balancing out chemical imbalances that may be present in patients suffering from mental illnesses. This has basically been the main rationale behind mood-altering drugs such as anti-depressants and the like. Beyond the treatment of mentally ill patients, however, the developments that have been made in brain research also introduce the new possibility of permanently or temporarily altering human behavior itself so as to incapacitate violent and criminal tendencies. Weyant points out how criminal and violent behavior may be avoided through early intervention in the pre-natal and post-natal development of the human brain. Aside from nipping criminal behavior at the bud, the possibility of permanently rehabilitating incarcerated criminals through biological intervention also poses a new issue for everyone involved. The main point of the article was basically to thresh out the new questions on ethics and scientific responsibility that the new opportunities produced by brain research are bound to provoke. While Weyant does spend a great deal of time discussing how people may find it unethical and intrusive to clinically alter a criminal's behavior, he emphasizes the importance of reviewing these questions as soon as possible because the time is very near when we will need a definite answer to those questions. REACTION The article was very well-written and interesting, and I did learn much from it. I think, however, that it was not very complete in giving all the necessary information for the reader to completely undrestand what the writer was talking about. There were certain portions of the article wherein the writer could have provided more background or explanation to the reader who may not be so familiar with brain research and with mechanisms of the human brain. In a certain part of the article, for example, he mentions in passing about how silicon chips have been used to help neurons communicate with each other, and then he doesn't give any explanation whatsoever as to how that works. Also in discussing the different kinds of neurotransmitters, he doesn't quite explain how they work but instead just enumerates or gives examples of some neurotransmitters. I think that, based on the writer's tone and the way he wrote the article, the writer did not really intend to write an informative article about brain research. His main intent was actually to point out some things about brain research in regards to how it would actually impact our lives in the future and how it could be used to alter criminal behavior. Although the earlier portions of the article were actually informative, the latter part delved more on arguments and issues regarding the use of biological intervention.. The writer's focus on addressing the general impact and issues surrounding biological intervention may be related to the fact that it was written for The Humanist--a magazine that focuses largely on different matters that may impact humanity. The article was not really intended to fully educate the reader of the hows and whys surrounding brain research and biological intervention but rather to make the reader more aware of the issues that may soon arise from such scientific developments. INTELLECTUAL BENEFIT Reading this article has clarified certain questions and misconceptions that I had before regarding human emotions and behavior. I was rather amazed to find out that everything we feel and all of our actions and behavior can be traced back to just a chemical or a spark in our brain. Although this may dampen some people who may take this information as an attack on the "mystery" of human emotion, I think it actually emphasizes how grand and majestic the human brain is. There is still so much that we don't know about the human brain, but I feel that as we've come to know more about it, we have also come to understand how incredibly powerful and complex it is. I am also awed by the idea that scientific research and development in the field of brain research has come so far as to make it nearly possible for us to alter a person's personality and/or behavior through the use of biological intervention. Right now, we are already familiar with chemical intervention or pill-popping when it comes to dealing with extreme emotions or the absence of such, but the thought that an individual's behavior and personality can be permanently altered through biological intervention is both unbelievable and also frightening. Lastly, I have also come to understand from reading this article about how scientific development really does need to be properly handled with both responsibility and a sense of ethics. Given the immense range of possibilities that are being opened by scientific breakthroughs such as those in brain research, it has also become clear that vigilance must be exercised to make sure that such developments do not result in hasty and unethical decisions on our part. Read More