Faculty of Philosophy and EMGO Institute, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Theor Med Bioeth. 2011 Jun;32(3):181-93. doi: 10.1007/s11017-010-9171-8.
Competent decision-making is required for informed consent. In this paper, I aim, from a phenomenological perspective, to identify the specific facets of competent decision-making that may form a challenge to depressed patients. On a phenomenological account, mood and emotions are crucial to the way in which human beings encounter the world. More precisely, mood is intimately related to the options and future possibilities we perceive in the world around us. I examine how possibilities should be understood in this context, and how, in depression, decision-making might be compromised. I suggest that, based on this analysis, a specific emphasis and alertness in assessments of competence in depressed patients is called for. In fact, close attention should be paid to the range of future possibilities depressed patients are able to perceive. In addition, providing environmental cues to these patients might be one way of enhancing their decision-making capacity. The practical suggestions arrived at are open to empirical research.
知情同意需要有能力做出决定。在本文中，我旨在从现象学的角度出发，确定可能对抑郁患者构成挑战的有能力做出决定的具体方面。根据现象学的说法，情绪和情感对于人类接触世界的方式至关重要。更准确地说，情绪与我们在周围世界中感知到的选择和未来可能性密切相关。我研究了在这种情况下应该如何理解可能性，以及在抑郁的情况下，决策可能会受到怎样的影响。我认为，基于这一分析，对抑郁患者的能力评估需要特别强调和警惕。事实上，应该密切关注抑郁患者能够感知到的未来可能性的范围。此外，为这些患者提供环境线索可能是增强他们决策能力的一种方法。得出的实际建议有待实证研究。
