People with Alzheimer's dementia experience significant neuropsychological decline, and this seems to threaten their sense of self. Yet they continue to have regard for their moral standing, especially from the feedback they receive from others in relation to such things as pride in their work, retaining a valued role, or acting out of a sense of purpose. This continuing self-regard is based on a self-image which often persists through memory loss. I will argue that in care settings the self-image ought to be assumed to remain intact. Treating a person with Alzheimer's dementia supportively and respectfully as the person with a certain role or identity-say as scientist, musician, janitor, parent, or friend-fosters an environment in which they are best able to retain what I call moral self-orientation. The latter notion is central to the well-being of social persons, and so it takes on special significance for people with dementia because, although their remembering selves are fragmenting, their self-image persists. Normative aspects of the self-image, I argue, require a social framework of support to sustain the self-image.

中文翻译：

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阿尔茨海默病的道德自我取向。

患有阿尔茨海默氏症的痴呆症患者的神经心理显着下降，这似乎威胁到他们的自我意识。然而，他们继续尊重自己的道德地位，尤其是从他们从其他人那里收到的反馈，这些反馈涉及对自己的工作感到自豪、保持有价值的角色或出于目的感而行事。这种持续的自尊是建立在自我形象的基础上的，这种形象通常会因记忆丧失而持续存在。我会争辩说，在护理环境中，应该假设自我形象保持完整。像科学家、音乐家、看门人、父母或朋友一样，支持和尊重地对待患有阿尔茨海默氏症的痴呆症患者，例如作为科学家、音乐家、看门人、父母或朋友，营造一种环境，使他们能够最好地保持我所谓的道德自我导向. 后一个概念对社会人的福祉至关重要，因此它对痴呆症患者具有特殊意义，因为尽管他们的记忆力正在支离破碎，但他们的自我形象仍然存在。我认为，自我形象的规范方面需要一个支持自我形象的社会框架。