Mosaic Decisionmaking and Reemergent Agency after Severe Brain Injury

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28 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this article, I will discuss the challenge posed by the reemergent agency of individuals with severe brain injury whose ability to communicate has been partially restored by neuroprosthetics, drugs, and rehabilitation. Instead of categorically distinguishing patients as either competent or incompetent, these technologies necessitate a more nuanced approach to intermediate states of decisionmaking capacity. This indeterminacy is addressed through a mosaic approach to decisionmaking, which seeks to achieve a proportionate and prudent balance between unbridled self-determination and conventional surrogate representation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)163-174
Number of pages12
JournalCambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics
Volume27
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2018

Keywords

  • agency
  • brain injury
  • competence
  • decisionmaking capacity
  • minimally conscious state
  • neuroethics
  • surrogate decisionmaking

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Issues, ethics and legal aspects
  • Health(social science)
  • Health Policy

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