Dementia care, robot pets, and aliefs.

Studies have shown that using robot pets in dementia care contributes to a reduction in loneliness and anxiety, and other benefits. Studies also show that, even when people know they are dealing with robots, they often treat the robot as though it is a real pet with genuine emotions. This disconnect...

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Publicado en:Bioethics Vol. 35; no. 9; pp. 870 - 877
Autores principales: Martens, Rhonda, Hildebrand, Christine
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Nov2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Dementia care, robot pets, and aliefs.
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          Martens, Rhonda
          Hildebrand, Christine
        affil: Department of Philosophy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg Manitoba, , Canada
      su:
        Self-perception
        Medical care
        Patients
        Pets
        Behavior
        Deception
        Robotics
        Dementia patients
        Dementia
      sug:
        subj:
          Self-perception
          Medical care
          Patients
          Pets
          Behavior
          Deception
          Live animal merchant wholesalers
          All other miscellaneous animal production
          All Other Animal Production
          Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
          Robotics
          Dementia patients
          Dementia
      keyword:
        aliefs
        deception
        dementia care
        Gendler
        robot pets
        aliefs
        deception
        dementia care
        Gendler
        robot pets
      ab: Studies have shown that using robot pets in dementia care contributes to a reduction in loneliness and anxiety, and other benefits. Studies also show that, even when people know they are dealing with robots, they often treat the robot as though it is a real pet with genuine emotions. This disconnect between beliefs and behavior occurs not just for people living with dementia, but with cognitively healthy adults, including those who are knowledgeable about how robots work. One possible explanation is that robot pets prompt contradictory beliefs, and so the use of robot pets encourages self‐deception. Sparrow argues that this makes the use of robot pets in dementia care morally objectionable. We disagree. We argue that Gendler's concept of alief offers a better explanation of the belief‐behavior disconnect observed when people interact with robot pets. An alief is a mental state composed of an automatic, arational, emotional, and behavioral response to representational input. Aliefs are not beliefs and are not subject to truth norms. Thus, on our view, harms associated with the use of robot pets in dementia care are not likely to include the self‐deceptions that Sparrow suggests. It might seem like philosophical hair‐splitting to claim that deception has not occurred because discordant aliefs rather than false beliefs have been formed, but this distinction matters. We argue that aliefs carry their own risks. These risks are important to consider when using robot pets in dementia care.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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