Associate Director, Institute for Ethics, University of New Mexico School of Law

Eva Caldera is Associate Director of the Institute for Ethics at the University of New Mexico and research professor of law at the University of New Mexico School of Law.  She is a graduate of Harvard College, where she majored in philosophy, and Harvard Law School.

As techniques for cognitive enhancement are being developed (including pharmacology, surgical modifcations, transcranial stimulation, brain implants and other technologies), new questions are emerging about the availability, distribution and permissible uses of such techniques.  This paper will provide an overview of possible approaches to these questions from within three different frameworks offered by political theory—libertarian (e.g. Robert Nozick), social contractarian (e.g. John Rawls) and communitarian (e.g. Michael Sandel).
Each of these theories rests on particular assumptions about the relationship between individuals and society and on particular conceptions of human flourishing.  This paper will examine whether the potential for cognitive enhancement requires re-examination of these fundamental premises about human nature and personal identity in connection with these theories of justice.