Abstract
Numerous ethical problems are known to follow in the wake of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This paper posits that some of these problems may best be discussed by considering both the distinction between ethics, moralities and politics and the conflicts arising from these three spheres of reality. Following Spanish philosopher Gustavo Bueno, an initial distinction is established in which 1) ethical norms and virtues seek to ensure the life of the human individual and the human person; 2) moral norms and virtues seek the smooth running of a given group; and 3) political norms and virtues seek the viability of a political state. The paper then moves on to characterize a specific subset of ethical problems involved in AD; here the distinction between human individual and human person proves to be particularly relevant. It focuses later on the conflict between the ethical universal virtues and moral norms of certain groups, such as families, doctors and certain other cultural groups, by studying their influence on the persons suffering from AD. Finally, the state’s role is taken into consideration, since the conflict between ethics and politics arises whenever health care officials try to cut costs at the expense of the heroic sacrifice made by some people. For its part, the conflict between morality and politics emerges when the interests of different groups collide, and whenever policies must be implemented to allocate scarce resources. The paper ends by suggesting that the proposed distinction may help understand some of the pressures acting on both people suffering from AD and on people making decisions about them.
Highlights
Rather than presenting the results of scientific or medical research on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), this paper raises an abstract, philosophical discussion
The paper first presents the advantages of dissociating three different domains of reality, and the stakes involved in analyzing the relationships and conflicts between them
It moves on to discuss the way AD can be viewed from each of these domains while showing how ethical, moral and political values and norms may come into conflict in the process of making decisions to address this dreaded disease
Summary
Rather than presenting the results of scientific or medical research on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), this paper raises an abstract, philosophical discussion. The paper first presents the advantages of dissociating three different domains of reality (ethics, morality and politics), and the stakes involved in analyzing the relationships and conflicts between them. I will present the distinction between ethics, morality and politics following the theories of the materialist philosopher Gustavo Bueno [1,2]. My position is that the distinction between ethics, morality and politics lies in the supposition that human persons, as they go about their daily lives, are required to face certain purposes, each of a different nature. Basic assumptions dictate that biological and personal integrity must be respected and enhanced regardless of sex, age, religion, ethnicity, language, etc With this in mind, ethical norms strive to be universal and distributive, since they are fully distributed in every human individual. J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism S10: 004. doi:10.4172/2161-0460.S10-004
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