Ethical issues and dementia: the Nuffield Report

Abstract

There is a view of the mind as composed of many modules, each module specialized: each with its own talent. We are enriched by this variety within ourselves, but we must find a way of thinking and acting with some degree of unity despite the modular structure. I chaired the Nuffield Council on Bioethics Working Party on Ethical Issues in Dementia for its two-year lifespan. The Working Party’s job was to produce a report. There were times during this period when I gained some comfort in the idea that finding coherence and unity from diversity is a challenge no different from one I face every day in living with the multiple facets of my mind.