Ethics and Cognitive Sciences

This special issue presents a set of contributions aimed at discussing ethical questions related to the cognitive science field. The goal is dual: raising ethical questions that may appear specific to cognitive science, as well as more general ethical issues on which cognitive science knowledge could shed a new light. Among the specific questions, this issue raises a number of questions related to potential applications of cognitive science research, such as the application of neuroscience to the juridical domain, of artificial intelligence to the development of autonomous artificial systems or to the processing of personal data, and of behavioral sciences to public policies. Among the general questions is raised the question whether cognitive science can bring a new perspective on humans’ ethical decisions and moral dilemmas, given the fact that decision-making and cognition are core objects of research of the field. Shall our understanding of what ethics is at the XXIst century be revised given the new knowledge generated by cognitive science research? The interdisciplinary points of views expressed in this special issue contribute to highlight that, rather than trying to give a sole response to ethical debates in replacement of other disciplines, cognitive science has the responsibility to underline with precaution and modesty some ethical questions to which the field can bring new knowledge which could contribute with other disciplines to update the characterization of ethical behaviors and reasoning in humans.