Deconstructing the Mind: Neurotechnology, Mental Privacy, and the Case for Neurorights
摘要
This chapter explores the challenges posed by neurotechnology and artificial intelligence to traditional understandings of mental privacy and human rights, employing Jacques Derrida’s deconstructive approach. Advances in neurotechnology, such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), have blurred the boundary between the “inside” (thoughts and mental states) and the “outside” (observable actions). These technologies enable unprecedented access to and manipulation of thoughts, emotions, and decisions, raising ethical concerns about privacy, autonomy, and free will. The chapter situates these issues within Derrida’s critique of metaphysical oppositions, specifically the inside/outside dichotomy, and his concept of the “trace,” which destabilizes binary distinctions. By analyzing the implications of thought as a readable “writing” within the brain, the chapter suggests that neurotechnology deconstructs traditional notions of the mind as an inviolable interior space. It argues that this transformation demands urgent legal responses, such as the incorporation of “neurorights” into constitutional and statutory frameworks to protect mental integrity. The discussion underscores the importance of a robust legal infrastructure to address risks including neuroprivacy violations, manipulation of free will, and neurodiscrimination, as well as the broader philosophical implications of rethinking the human mind as a material system open to external interpretation and influence.