Personal identity, advance directives, and genetic testing for Alzheimer disease.
The authors consider current theories of personhood and personal identity as they relate to the Alzheimer disease (AD) patient, and evaluate their usefulness in clinical contexts. Differing conclusions about the weight advance directives should be given in decision making for seriously demented patients suggest that the philosophical presuppositions that underlie various positions can have implications for the care of such patients.
Klepper
H
H
Stanford Program in Genomics, Ethics, and Society, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
Rorty
M
M
D016223:Advance Directives; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D010551:Personality