Daniel Lee, H.Dip., M.A., M.Sc.

Personal information

Daniel Lee has completed a B.A. in psychology and philosophy, a Higher Diploma in research psychology, an M.A. in philosophy with a focus on values and knowledge, and an M.Sc. in clinical neuroscience, all from the University of Galway, Ireland. He is currently a PhD candidate in Neurophilosophy at the Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences at LMU Munich, working with the Cognition, Values, and Behaviour (CVBE) research group.

Research interests

Daniel's research lies at the interface of psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience. In particular, he has a keen interest in topics including the phenomenology of emotion, affective and cognitive dimensions of empathy, moral decision-making, human enhancement in various domains, and the ethical impact of socially disruptive technologies.

Current projects

• Metaethics and the ethics of moral bioenhancement (biomedical interventions that are intended to "enhance" the moral cognitions, motivations, and behaviors of their recipients), particularly their effects on freedom and authenticity.
• Investigating the dimensions of moral psychology, and exploring which moral traits and virtues are associated, merely compatible, or mutually exclusive.
• Exploring the “status quo” bias in human psychology, and how this may affect appraisal of individuals with long-term developmental psychiatric syndromes, compared to recently acquired psychiatric syndromes.
• Clarifying the constructs of psychopathy, sociopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and pseudo-psychopathy as observed in frontal lobe dysfunction and associated neurological disorders.
• Investigating the societal implications of a wide range of enhancement technologies, including moral enhancement, cognitive enhancement, and life-extending technologies.

PhD project

Working title: Moral Bioenhancement, Freedom, and Psychopathy

Daniel’s PhD project focuses on moral bioenhancement – biomedical interventions that are intended to "enhance" the moral cognitions, motivations, and behaviors of their recipients. While the use of moral bioenhancement in morally typical populations is controversial due to the deleterious effects such a biomedical intervention may have for an agent’s freedom and authenticity, these concerns are also present in morally atypical agents such as psychopaths. Due to clinically relevant factors such as a lack of phenomenological empathy, inability to feel guilt, and impulsive, reckless behaviours that threaten themselves and others, psychopaths and other morally atypical populations (pseudo-psychopaths, individuals with antisocial personality disorder, etc.) represent a further conceptual challenge to the ethics of moral bioenhancement implementation. Daniel’s project investigates and aims to resolve these tensions, establishing whether moral bioenhancement can be said to harm or enhance the freedom of the psychopath qua morally atypical agent.