NEHnee

NEHnee is a fictional term used in speculative fiction and world-building to describe a socio-cultural framework that combines neuroscience-informed ethics, humanities inquiry, and environmental stewardship into a single paradigm. In the narratives and essays that employ it, NEHnee functions as both a descriptive label for a broad movement and a heuristic for examining the implications of advanced neurotechnology on individuals, communities, and ecosystems.

Origin and scope: The term emerges in early 22nd-century fictional discourses within a cross-disciplinary network described in world-building sources as the Neuro-Environmental Humanities Network (NEHN). Proponents present NEHnee as an integrative approach that avoids the silos typical of purely technical or purely humanistic analyses, seeking to align scientific innovation with social and ecological well-being.

Core principles: NEHnee emphasizes cognitive liberty and informed consent; equitable access to neurotechnologies; participatory governance and public deliberation; privacy and data sovereignty; transparent design processes; and ecological accountability, including lifecycle considerations of technologies and materials used in brain-computer interfaces or neuroimaging.

Applications and influence: In fiction, NEHnee shapes governance structures, ethical review, education, and cultural production, providing a framework for characters to navigate dilemmas related to memory enhancement, personality modification, or mood regulation. In scholarly debates within the universe, it functions as a point of reference for critiques of technocratic futurism and for exploring how societies negotiate risk, value, and responsibility.

Reception and limitations: Critics note that NEHnee is a broad, aspirational construct that can obscure practical implementation challenges. Supporters argue it offers a useful lens for cross-disciplinary dialogue and policy simulation in speculative settings.

See also: neuroethics, environmental humanities, bioethics.