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The KBEI in Paris - The Neuroethics Network 2018
July 27, 2018
The Koeze Business Ethics Initiative (KBEI) was fortunate to be able to take a piece of its work to Paris in June of 2018. Michael DeWilde, KBEI’s director, has been researching, as well as advocating, the use of neuroscience research in education, and he was invited to speak at the annual Neuroethics Network as part of their three-day conference. The event brought together neuroscientists, jurists and philosophers from all over the world to the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Épinière (ICM Brain & Spine Institute) in order to discuss emerging issues in neuroscience, neurotechnology, and neurolaw, among other fields, with the purpose of building toward greater understanding of the ethical issues these subjects raise. DeWilde’s talk, “Empathy and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex: Reflections on de Waal, Bloom and the Buddha” addressed the growing scientific consensus on the nature and precise neural network involving empathy in its various guises. What role does empathy play in moral decision-making? How might we address the growing problem of declining empathy in America’s younger population (Konrath et al, 2011)? And is it possible to effectively train for empathy? DeWilde’s presentation at the Neuroethics Network addressed these questions and others, with an eye toward the neurological investigation training and educational methods the KBEI has developed—one that will be put to the test in September in collaboration with Texas Tech University’s Neuroimaging Institute.
The KBEI, along with researchers at Texas Tech and help from the Sutter Health Care system in California, has tested a role-playing technique we’ve developed over the years, with analysis still pending. We looked to determine whether engaging with individuals in a more “affective” manner, i.e., encouraging the practice of deliberate perspective-taking using role-play as an educational tool, might facilitate more empathetic and mindful approaches to common – and not so common – personal and professional dilemmas. Using the sophisticated imaging technology of Texas Tech’s Neuroimaging Institute, the KBEI collected imaging data in September 2018 that will hope to show how educators, mangers and others can use role-playing to address growing empathy deficits.