Guest: Henry T. Greely, JD

Host: Cathleen Margolin, PhD


How might society best respond to the growing demand for cognitive-enhancing drugs by healthy individuals? That's the overriding question posed in a recent article published in Nature, written by a team of authors led by Henry Greely, professor of law and director of the Center for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford University. Mr. Greely joins host Dr. Cathleen Margolin to evaluate the appeal and the risks of drug-propelled cognitive enhancement, from safety considerations for healthy individuals using such medications, to the fairness of comparing the achievements of those who use versus those who do not, and the potential for coercion by superiors aiming, in theory, for enhanced performance from subordinates. One other question they will consider: is there a moral difference between cognitive enhancement through pharmaceuticals versus enhancement through sleep or nutritionally beneficial food products?