Health

FEATURED DEBATE

Should We Erase Bad Memories?

In the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kate Winslet’s character undergoes a procedure to erase her bad memories of her ex-boyfriend. But what if we could do the same in real life? Neurotechnology techniques, such as decoded neurofeedback, open the possibilities of influencing the brain’s neural activity to modify or erase memories that aren’t pleasant or beneficial to our well-being. Those who argue in favor say it could help offer a path to psychological well-being and emotional healing from traumatic and painful memories that lead to anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Those forgotten painful, unwanted memories would give…

August 18, 2023
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FEATURED DEBATE

August 18, 2023
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Should We Erase Bad Memories?

In the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kate Winslet’s character undergoes a procedure to erase her bad memories of her ex-boyfriend. But what if we could do the same in real life? Neurotechnology techniques, such as decoded neurofeedback, open the possibilities of influencing the brain’s neural activity to modify or erase memories that aren’t pleasant or beneficial to our well-being. Those who argue in favor say it could help offer a path to psychological well-being and emotional healing from traumatic and painful memories that lead to anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Those forgotten painful, unwanted memories would give…

Nita Farahany

ARGUING YES

Nita Farahany
Author of "The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology", Professor at Duke University, and the Founding Director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society
Sigal Samuel

ARGUING NO

Sigal Samuel
Senior Reporter for Vox Future Perfect and co-host of the Future Perfect podcast

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Should We Erase Bad Memories?
In the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kate Winslet’s character undergoes a procedure to erase her bad memories of her ex-boyfriend. But what if we could do the same in real life?…
August 18, 2023

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