Deakin University, Australia.
Dementia (London). 2013 Jul;12(4):377-93. doi: 10.1177/1471301211429168. Epub 2011 Dec 2.
This paper reports the findings of an unobtrusive research inquiry investigating the possible use and misuse of Alzheimer's disease in public policy debate on the legalization of euthanasia. The component of the study being reported identified the problematic use of five key metaphors: the Alzheimer metaphor, which in turn was reinforced by three additional metaphors--the epidemic metaphor, the military metaphor, and the predatory thief metaphor; and the euthanasia metaphor. All metaphors were found to be morally loaded and used influentially to stigmatize Alzheimer's disease and mediate public opinion supporting the legalization of euthanasia as an end-of-life 'solution' for people with the disease. It is contended that, in the interests of promoting intellectual honesty and giving proper recognition to the extraordinary complexity of the issue, the problematic use and influence of metaphoric thinking in the public debate about Alzheimer's disease and euthanasia needs to be made transparent, questioned and challenged.
本文报告了一项非介入性研究调查的结果，该调查研究了在安乐死合法化的公共政策辩论中，阿尔茨海默病可能被滥用和误用的情况。本研究报告的组成部分确定了五个关键隐喻的不当使用：阿尔茨海默隐喻，这反过来又被另外三个隐喻所强化——流行病隐喻、军事隐喻和掠夺性小偷隐喻；以及安乐死隐喻。所有的隐喻都被发现具有道德内涵，并具有影响力，可以污名化阿尔茨海默病，并影响公众舆论，支持将安乐死作为患有这种疾病的人的一种“解决方案”。有人认为，为了促进知识诚实，并适当承认这一问题的非凡复杂性，需要使公众对阿尔茨海默病和安乐死的隐喻思维的不当使用及其影响变得透明化，并对其进行质疑和挑战。
