ABSTRACT
This chapter brings work in cognitive psychology into dialogue with work in philosophy and bioethics to illuminate the ethics of care in the context of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Neurologically oriented and more social and phenomenological cognitive theories are contrasted and their relevance to the cognitive situation and care of those living with dementia is discussed. An ethical account of care is presented based on the notion of relational and recognitional practices of attentiveness that support the ethical standing of the persons receiving care. When care is seen as a relational practice of recognition, the assessments and positionings others place upon those with cognitive impairment in advanced age are particularly significant. The chapter argues that embodied and enactive cognitive theory indicates a way to identify cognitive capabilities that could be supported in long-term dementia care if they were not overlooked. An ethics of care provides a powerful, humane rationale for paying better and closer attention.
