Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Dementia has long been understood through biomedical frameworks that privilege brain pathology over lived experience. This article introduces dementism—a theoretical lens reframing dementia as a moral and social injustice rather than merely a medical condition. By exposing the four architectures of dementism—emotional reactions, social attribution, exclusion, and denial of humanness, this article argues for a paradigm shift in how society conceptualises cognitive decline. It invites an ontological debate: what if losing memory does not mean losing humanity? Dementism challenges the moral hierarchies embedded in care systems and proposes a justice-oriented vision for dementia research and policy reform.
Source: Cogent Gerontology
Author: Atiqur SM-Rahman
Institution: University of Dundee
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7124135451