Tomažič Tina, Čelofiga Anita Kovačič
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor, Institute for Media Communications, Koroška cesta 46, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia.
Alma Mater Europaea, Slovenska ulica 17, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia.
Philos Ethics Humanit Med. 2019 Apr 25;14(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s13010-019-0076-5.
Better memory, greater motivation and concentration lead to greater productivity, efficiency and performance, all of which are features that are highly valued in a modern society focused on productivity. In the effort for better cognitive abilities, otherwise healthy individuals use cognitive enhancers (also known as nootropics), medicines for the treatment of cognitive deficits of patients with various disorders and health problems, such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, stroke, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ageing. The use of these is more common in professions with emphasised cognitive abilities, or in occupations that require more attention, focus and alertness. Their use is also associated with the general working population, in that they are supposed to use them to alleviate the effects of sleep deprivation and to cope with increasing workloads.In the paper, we are addressing the ethical issue and the dilemmas of the use of pharmaceutical enhancements by healthy people who have no medical reason for taking such substances, in the context of improving their cognitive functions.
更好的记忆力、更强的动力和注意力能带来更高的生产力、效率和表现，所有这些都是在注重生产力的现代社会中备受重视的特征。为了提升认知能力，原本健康的个体使用认知增强剂（也称为益智药），这些药物用于治疗患有各种疾病和健康问题（如阿尔茨海默病、精神分裂症、中风、注意力缺陷多动障碍或衰老）患者的认知缺陷。在认知能力要求较高的职业中，或者在需要更多注意力、专注力和警觉性的工作中，这些药物的使用更为普遍。它们的使用也与普通劳动人口相关，因为人们认为他们使用这些药物是为了减轻睡眠剥夺的影响并应对不断增加的工作量。在本文中，我们将探讨在改善认知功能的背景下，无医学理由服用此类物质的健康人使用药物增强剂所涉及的伦理问题和困境。
