Moral Development in Early Childhood Is Key for Moral Enhancement

Moral enhancement, outlined in the well-elaborated typology by John Shook (2012), is the most recent strain in the enhancement debate that unfolded in the last decade—but the ideal of “becoming a morally better person” is probably among the oldest topics in practical philosophy and pedagogy. However, the topic of “moral enhancement” offers the new idea that knowledge of the biological foundation of human moral behavior may allow for interventions into the “neuronal infrastructure” of morality in order to improve the behavior of people or, at least, to diminish some forms of evil that result, for example, from prefrontal lesions (Sobhani and Bechara 2011). With moral enhancements, one might avoid the long and troublesome shaping of morality through education and/or correction, although enhancement would raise many philosophical and practical problems, as outlined by John Shook and others. In our contribution, we raise three points: the importance of moral development in early life and its implications, the nature of virtue, and existing methods of educational enhancement and non-invasive enhancements. These points are important, as in Shook’s contribution (and in many others that discuss moral enhancement) an understanding of the importance of early experience is missing. Humans are born with only 25% of the brain developed (reaching about 90% complete by age 5 years; Trevathan 2011). Much of early experience involves the co-construction of brain circuitries through interactions with caregivers that have a direct bearing on moral functioning later. Examples are subcortical emotion systems of “play” and “care” (Panksepp 1998) and cortical areas of the prefrontal cortex, such as the orbitofrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex (Schore 2013). Initial conditions of humandevelopment and the epigenetic and developmental plasticity of brain/body have long-term consequences for well-being and morality (Narvaez 2008). The early caregiving environment influences the development of many basic systems such as stress reactivity, impacting physical and mental health outcomes later in life (Lupien et al. 2008). For example, children with inconsistent or non-responsive caregivers can develop emotional dysregulation which becomes the foundation for further psychopathology such as depression, aggression, compromised social abilities and lifelong anxiety (Schore 2013). Given this unfolding knowledge on the connection between brain development and moral development, it is obvious that there are links to moral enhancement—