Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2018
Department
Philosophy
Abstract
This paper begins with a vignette of Juan Carlos, an immigrant to America who works to support his family, attends classes at a community college, and cares for his ill daughter. It argues that an Aristotelian virtue ethicist could condone a safe, legal, and virtuous use of cognitive enhancements in Juan Carlos’s case. The argument is that if an enhancement can lead him closer to eudaimonia (i.e., flourishing, or a good life), then it is morally permissible to use it. The paper closes by demonstrating how common objections to cognitive enhancement fail to undermine Juan Carlos’s justifiable use of the technology. The particularities of his case make it morally acceptable for him to use enhancements in certain situations. The paper, thus, constructs a limited, positive case for the virtuous use of pharmaceutical cognitive enhancements.
Original Publication Information
Trujillo, Jr., Glenn M. "From Taquería to Medical School: Juan Carlos, Aristotle, Cognitive Enhancements, and a Good Life." 2018. Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology 22(1): 1-27.
ThinkIR Citation
Trujillo, Glenn "Boomer" Mac, "From Taquería to Medical School: Juan Carlos, Aristotle, Cognitive Enhancements, and a Good Life" (2018). Faculty Scholarship. 454.
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/faculty/454
DOI
10.5840/techne201791368
ORCID
0000-0003-2534-5390
