Christian Perspective on Neural Engineering

About Christian Perspective on Neural Engineering

Abstract

Neural Engineering is a fast growing field where new engineering solutions are applied to problematic areas of the brain in the hope that technology can provide a solution, and indeed has provided solutions to many individuals. With the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative in 2013, to map the human brain, neural engineering will have the spotlight for a while. Like any fast developing field, it is important that Christian scientists and thinkers come together to offer a Christian perspective. This will help us to envision the field of neural engineering from a biblical perspective, and also help us to deeply root ourselves in scripture as new neuroscientific findings challenge our perception of the human brain. With this in mind we explore some topics related to neural engineering. We look at Biblical foundations for studying engineering and neuroscience through a Biblical framework. Next, webriefly introduce the concept of consciousness since the view of consciousness impacts how we make ethical decisions about neuro-research. We discuss in detail a Christian response to two areas of neural engineering: neural prosthetics and brain imaging. In neural prosthetics we look at the three main categories: motor, sensory and cognitive neural prosthetics. We introduce each of the categories mentioning the conditions it applies to and critique it from a Christian perspective. Finally we look at the discussion about free-will from a neuroscientific perspective and how our understanding may change with the use of brain imaging. While these topics can be discussed in length, our purpose is to introduce the topics and raise the reader's awareness of the principal problems at hand and therefore kept brief.