Abstract
Dementia progressively isolates sufferers from their loved ones, who continue to search for meanings in their actions and words. As the condition progresses, meaning becomes harder and harder to find. Yet the actions of the sufferer may contain patterns, hinting at meanings that tempt observers to interpret from their own standpoint. We report the patterns repeated by a sufferer from Alzheimer's disease, artistic arrangements that take time to make, and appeal to observers. To the sufferer, these arrangements seem to have no value beyond the fact of their creation. We wonder how far we can go as observers in imposing interpretations on these patterns of activity, which seem beautiful and poignant to us, but are evanescent and unremarked by their creator.
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Reference
Nagel, T. (1974). What is it like to be a bat? The philosophical review, 83(4): 435-450.
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We acknowledge that the ethical status of this short discussion is vexed. We cannot secure informed consent from our subject, who may well be identified by the authors’ names. We are legally defined as proxy decision makers for her, but recognize that the law and ethics may reach different reflective conclusions. The essay is offered on this understanding after we have both agreed that the insights are worth sharing, and that, in our opinions, the subject would once have agreed to their publication.
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Little, M., Vincent, P. The liminal world of dementia. Bioethical Inquiry 16, 193–194 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-019-09917-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-019-09917-1