ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates some of the most pressing ethical issues that may arise from the application of neuroscience advances devoted to detecting deception or hidden intentions by humans in security settings, and especially within counter-terrorism. It presents a general overview of the field of terrorism psychology and introduces recent claims about the possibility for neuroscience to 'read' a terrorist's brain. The chapter describes five neuroscience-based experiments in which investigators claim to be able, in various ways, to 'detect' lying or the 'hidden intentions' of humans. It also deals with the ethical dilemmas and social implications of these and similar prospective advances in neuroscience. Neuroscientists research the 'terrorist brain' with the aim of preventing attacks. Psychologists study terrorism with the aim of identifying those who may engage in violence with a view to aiding in prevention. Terrorism nevertheless is a complex subject to analyse and multidisciplinary research is necessary to understand the phenomenon as a prelude to countering it.
