Psychedelics as moral bioenhancers: Protocol for a scoping review of ethical arguments for and against [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
Background Moral bioenhancement typically refers to the deliberate use of drugs or biotechnologies, potentially alongside other practices, to attempt to improve oneself morally. In addition to general concerns regarding moral self-bioenhancement, the possibility of using psychedelic substances for s...
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Wellcome
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Wellcome Open Research |
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| Online Access: | https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-3/v1 |
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| author | Sebastian Porsdam Mann Brian D. Earp Julian Savulescu Christopher Register Samuel Streicher Katherine Cheung Maide Barış Xiu Lim David Yaden Emma C Gordon |
| author_facet | Sebastian Porsdam Mann Brian D. Earp Julian Savulescu Christopher Register Samuel Streicher Katherine Cheung Maide Barış Xiu Lim David Yaden Emma C Gordon |
| author_sort | Sebastian Porsdam Mann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Moral bioenhancement typically refers to the deliberate use of drugs or biotechnologies, potentially alongside other practices, to attempt to improve oneself morally. In addition to general concerns regarding moral self-bioenhancement, the possibility of using psychedelic substances for such purposes raises distinct ethical questions. As a first step in analysing these questions, we intend to perform a scoping review of the existing arguments for and against the use of psychedelics as moral bioenhancers. We will focus primarily on voluntary use by individuals, although voluntary use by couples or small groups will be considered. The present contribution is a protocol for this scoping review. Methods Our scoping review will adhere to the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, which involves five stages: (1) identifying the research question, (2) developing the search strategy, (3) setting inclusion criteria, (4) extracting data, and (5) presenting and analysing the results. We will include both published and unpublished sources if they explicitly present ethical arguments for or against the voluntary use of psychedelics as intentional moral bioenhancers in adults. We will search for relevant studies in Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, The National Library of Medicine, the Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Philosopher’s Index, the Bioethics Literature Database, EthxWeb, PhilPapers, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Philosopher’s Index, EBSCO, BASE, and WorldCat. Sources will be excluded if (a) the full text is inaccessible, (b) the main text is in a language other than English, or (c) the focus is not primarily on ethical arguments (for example, focusing primarily on the clinical use of psychedelics for treatment). Two raters will independently assess all articles for eligibility, with disagreements to be resolved with a third reviewer. Data from eligible articles will be charted using a standardised data extraction form. The data will be analysed following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a8ab656de6654b63a0e7cce03b0a4123 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2398-502X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wellcome |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wellcome Open Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-a8ab656de6654b63a0e7cce03b0a41232025-08-20T03:40:51ZengWellcomeWellcome Open Research2398-502X2025-01-011010.12688/wellcomeopenres.23414.125822Psychedelics as moral bioenhancers: Protocol for a scoping review of ethical arguments for and against [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]Sebastian Porsdam Mann0Brian D. Earp1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9691-2888Julian Savulescu2Christopher Register3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5957-6376Samuel Streicher4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0471-3000Katherine Cheung5Maide Barış6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7445-4599Xiu Lim7David Yaden8Emma C Gordon9Centre for Advanced Studies in Bioscience Innovation Law, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkUniversity of Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Oxford, UKUniversity of Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Oxford, UKUniversity of Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Oxford, UKUniversity of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaJohns Hopkins University Berman Institute of Bioethics, Baltimore, Maryland, USAMarmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, TurkeyChoate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Connecticut, USACenter for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USADepartment of Philosophy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UKBackground Moral bioenhancement typically refers to the deliberate use of drugs or biotechnologies, potentially alongside other practices, to attempt to improve oneself morally. In addition to general concerns regarding moral self-bioenhancement, the possibility of using psychedelic substances for such purposes raises distinct ethical questions. As a first step in analysing these questions, we intend to perform a scoping review of the existing arguments for and against the use of psychedelics as moral bioenhancers. We will focus primarily on voluntary use by individuals, although voluntary use by couples or small groups will be considered. The present contribution is a protocol for this scoping review. Methods Our scoping review will adhere to the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, which involves five stages: (1) identifying the research question, (2) developing the search strategy, (3) setting inclusion criteria, (4) extracting data, and (5) presenting and analysing the results. We will include both published and unpublished sources if they explicitly present ethical arguments for or against the voluntary use of psychedelics as intentional moral bioenhancers in adults. We will search for relevant studies in Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, The National Library of Medicine, the Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Philosopher’s Index, the Bioethics Literature Database, EthxWeb, PhilPapers, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Philosopher’s Index, EBSCO, BASE, and WorldCat. Sources will be excluded if (a) the full text is inaccessible, (b) the main text is in a language other than English, or (c) the focus is not primarily on ethical arguments (for example, focusing primarily on the clinical use of psychedelics for treatment). Two raters will independently assess all articles for eligibility, with disagreements to be resolved with a third reviewer. Data from eligible articles will be charted using a standardised data extraction form. The data will be analysed following PRISMA-ScR guidelines.https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-3/v1Psychedelic hallucinogen moral enhancement bioenhancement scoping review protocoleng |
| spellingShingle | Sebastian Porsdam Mann Brian D. Earp Julian Savulescu Christopher Register Samuel Streicher Katherine Cheung Maide Barış Xiu Lim David Yaden Emma C Gordon Psychedelics as moral bioenhancers: Protocol for a scoping review of ethical arguments for and against [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] Wellcome Open Research Psychedelic hallucinogen moral enhancement bioenhancement scoping review protocol eng |
| title | Psychedelics as moral bioenhancers: Protocol for a scoping review of ethical arguments for and against [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full | Psychedelics as moral bioenhancers: Protocol for a scoping review of ethical arguments for and against [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_fullStr | Psychedelics as moral bioenhancers: Protocol for a scoping review of ethical arguments for and against [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychedelics as moral bioenhancers: Protocol for a scoping review of ethical arguments for and against [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_short | Psychedelics as moral bioenhancers: Protocol for a scoping review of ethical arguments for and against [version 1; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_sort | psychedelics as moral bioenhancers protocol for a scoping review of ethical arguments for and against version 1 peer review 2 approved |
| topic | Psychedelic hallucinogen moral enhancement bioenhancement scoping review protocol eng |
| url | https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-3/v1 |
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