As business and neuroscience draw closer, we must not forget some of the ethical issues associated with advancing neuroscience.

Brain mapping projects in the US and Europe are exciting developments. Learning more about how the mind works could well be a fantastic leap forward for humanity, helping us treat psychological conditions and understand ourselves better; but equally, ideas must be handled responsibly and ethically to prevent them from becoming tools of manipulation.

Neuroscience: the legal question

We have seen some of the possible ethical problems with the use of neuroscience in the courts of law.

Where does personal responsibility begin and end? To what extent can neuroscience explain human behavior and under what circumstances can it provide a defense against criminal activity?

Depending on how much neuroscience is allowed in legal cases, skilled attorneys can form strong defenses around the makeup of a person’s brain rather than conscious awareness of one’s actions. This is a dangerous path where personal responsibility for one’s actions could be pushed into the background and used to ‘justify’ criminal behaviour.

There are still many “grey” areas within neuroscience; Indeed, one of the inconvenient truths of neuroscience is that we only know a fraction of what there is to know about the brain; so it would be wise to proceed with caution here.

the customer’s question

Neuroscience has gotten a lot of attention as marketers have taken notice of the fact that figuring out how people behave is what they’ve been trying to accomplish ever since they started selling stuff. It has led to the development of the field of ‘neuromarketing’.

Understanding the workings of the human brain inevitably leads to the topic of how we make choices and decisions. Through the lens of marketers, this means potential customers’ buying decisions, and it’s easy to see how this type of information could be used to create more effective advertising and marketing messages.

The concern is where the line is drawn and when it becomes unfair manipulation of people, especially young people, to buy a product or service.

employee’s question

Another area where neuroscience is increasingly being applied is within leadership and teams in organizations.

While part of healthy and successful leadership is understanding team members, indeed it is essential, there is also a line here that, once crossed, turns understanding, motivation and encouragement into manipulation.

This is why professional intervention is required within an organization to ensure that neuroscience insights are applied correctly and effectively. It is not an area to take chances or enter halfheartedly. When it comes to the mind and behavior of people, it is always a serious matter.

Underpinning the drive to improve leadership must be a genuine, ethical regard for the well-being of people: this becomes the guide by which improvements are made, so the individual, team and organization benefit.

Neuroscience has rightly been presented as a wonderful tool for learning more about the human condition. The potential is great, but insights into cognitive and behavioral processes are powerful, and some degree of caution is needed before applying them to our businesses as well as our social systems.