Singh Ilina
London School of Economics.
Am J Bioeth. 2005 Summer;5(3):34-47. doi: 10.1080/15265160590945129.
The use of Ritalin and other stimulant drug treatments for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) raises distinctive moral dilemmas for parents; these moral dilemmas have not been adequately addressed in the bioethics literature. This paper draws upon data from a qualitative empirical study to investigate parents' use of the moral ideal of authenticity as part of their narrative justifications for dosing decisions and actions. I show that therapeutic decisions and actions are embedded in valued cultural ideals about masculinity, self-actualization and success, as well as in moral conceptions of authenticity and personal freedom. I argue that this investigation of parents' moral justifications and dosing dilemmas raises questions about the validity of authenticity as a transcendent moral principle. Moreover, this study demonstrates that in order to be relevant, bioethical analysis of neurocognitive enhancement must engage with ground-up studies of moral principles and decision-making in context.
使用利他林及其他兴奋剂药物治疗注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）给家长们带来了独特的道德困境；这些道德困境在生物伦理学文献中尚未得到充分探讨。本文利用一项定性实证研究的数据，调查家长们如何将真实性的道德理想作为其用药决策和行为的叙述性理由的一部分。我表明，治疗决策和行为既植根于关于男子气概、自我实现和成功的有价值的文化理想之中，也存在于真实性和个人自由的道德观念之中。我认为，对家长道德理由和用药困境的这一调查引发了关于真实性作为一种超越性道德原则的有效性的问题。此外，这项研究表明，为了具有相关性，对神经认知增强的生物伦理学分析必须结合对实际情境中的道德原则和决策的深入研究。
