American Journal of Bioethics 20 (8):54-64 (2020)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
Dementia patients in the moderate-late stage of the disease can, and often do, express different preferences than they did at the onset of their condition. The received view in the philosophical literature argues that advance directives which prioritize the patient’s preferences at onset ought to be given decisive moral weight in medical decision-making. Clinical practice, on the other hand, favors giving moral weight to the preferences expressed by dementia patients after onset. The purpose of this article is to show that the received view in the philosophical literature is inadequate and is out of touch with real clinical practice. I argue that having dementia is a cognitive transformative experience and that preference changes which result from this are legitimate and ought to be given moral weight in medical decision-making. This argument ought to encourage us to reduce our confidence in the moral weight of advance directives for dementia patients.
|
Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
ISBN(s) | |
DOI | 10.1080/15265161.2020.1781955 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
View all 34 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Personal Transformation and Advance Directives: An Experimental Bioethics Approach.Brian D. Earp, Stephen R. Latham & Kevin P. Tobia - 2020 - American Journal of Bioethics 20 (8):72-75.
Algorithms for Ethical Decision-Making in the Clinic: A Proof of Concept.Lukas J. Meier, Alice Hein, Klaus Diepold & Alena Buyx - forthcoming - American Journal of Bioethics:1-17.
Advance Directives and Transformative Experience: Resilience in the Face of Change.Govind C. Persad - 2020 - American Journal of Bioethics 20 (8):69-71.
Beyond Precedent Autonomy and Current Preferences: A Narrative Perspective on Advance Directives in Dementia Care.Guy Widdershoven, Rien Janssens & Yolande Voskes - 2020 - American Journal of Bioethics 20 (8):104-106.
View all 22 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Advance Directives for Non-Therapeutic Dementia Research: Some Ethical and Policy Considerations.R. L. Berghmans - 1998 - Journal of Medical Ethics 24 (1):32-37.
Authority Without Identity: Defending Advance Directives Via Posthumous Rights Over One’s Body.Govind Persad - 2019 - Journal of Medical Ethics 45 (4):249-256.
Eudaimonia and well-being: questioning the moral authority of advance directives in dementia.Philippa Byers - 2020 - Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 41 (1):23-37.
Dementia and Advance Directives: Some Empirical and Normative Concerns.Karin R. Jongsma, Marijke C. Kars & Johannes J. M. van Delden - 2019 - Journal of Medical Ethics 45 (2):92-94.
An Examination of the Moral Authority of Use of Advance Directives with the Alzheimer's Dementia Population.Marcia Sokolowski - unknown
Indeterminacy of Identity and Advance Directives for Death After Dementia.Andrew Sneddon - 2020 - Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 23 (4):705-715.
Advance Directives as a Tool to Respect Patients’ Values and Preferences: Discussion on the Case of Alzheimer’s Disease.Corinna Porteri - 2018 - BMC Medical Ethics 19 (1):9.
Beyond Competence: Advance Directives in Dementia Research.Karin Roland Jongsma & Suzanne van de Vathorst - 2015 - Monash Bioethics Review 33 (2-3):167-180.
Animals, Advance Directives, and Prudence: Should We Let the Cheerfully Demented Die?David Limbaugh - 2016 - Ethics, Medicine and Public Health 2 (4):481-489.
Advance Directives, Dementia, and 'The Someone Else Problem'.David Degrazia - 1999 - Bioethics 13 (5):373-391.
Advance Directives in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease; Ethical and Clinical Considerations.J. Vollmann - 2001 - Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 4 (2):161-167.
Advance Directives to Withhold Oral Food and Water in Dementia.Ann M. Heath - 2016 - The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 16 (3):421-434.
Music Therapy and Dementia: Rethinking the Debate Over Advance Directives.Steve Matthews - 2014 - Ethics Education 20:18-35.
An Analysis of Common Arguments Against Advance Directives.M. Mitchell - 2012 - Nursing Ethics 19 (2):245-251.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2020-08-07
Total views
50 ( #224,608 of 2,498,786 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
8 ( #89,760 of 2,498,786 )
2020-08-07
Total views
50 ( #224,608 of 2,498,786 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
8 ( #89,760 of 2,498,786 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads