Aging, Death, And The Quest For Immortality

by Mitchell, C. Ben

• ISBN13: 9780802827845
• ISBN10: 0802827845
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-07-15
• Publisher: Lightning Source Inc

Summary

Aging is a fact of life, and issues surrounding it are hot. There are currently 35 million Americans over the age of sixty-five -- more than ever. This demographic shift is noteworthy not only because the ranks of the elderly will continue to swell in coming years but also because it is taking place in what the editors of this book call an "ageist society," one that increasingly loathes every facet of aging. Indeed, the ethical issues associated with aging are among the thorniest in medicine and public policy today. Aging, Death, and the Quest for Immortality is a timely volume by physicians, health-care professionals, pastors, and ethicists who explore the experiences, dilemmas, and possibilities associated with aging. The book opens by offering three distinct perspectives on aging; this section includes practical suggestions for dealing with retirement, disability, healing, and death. Several contributors then analyze controversial ethical issues raised by aging and health care, including medical decision-making, the moral standing of patients with dementia, health-care rationing, and assisted suicide. A third group of essays applies a theology of care to ministry to and through older adults, the counseling of seniors, and the application of palliative care. The book closes by discussing some of the emerging technologies and interest groups aimed at achieving immortality, also asking, appropriately, what insights the Christian faith brings to the discussion. Reflecting much wisdom and sensitivity, this book will give welcome help to care providers and to those who are themselves in the later stages of life. Book jacket.

Author Biography

C. Ben Mitchell is associate professor of bioethics and contemporary culture at Trinity International University, Deerfield, Illinois Robert D. Orr is director of ethics at Fletcher Allen Health Care and professor of family medicine at the University of Vermont Susan A. Salladay is director of the Center for Bioethics at BryanLGH Medical Center, Lincoln, Nebraska

Table of Contents

Contributors	vii
Introduction by the Editors	ix
C. Ben Mitchell
Robert D. Orr
Susan A. Salladay
THE EXPERIENCE OF AGING
A Personal Perspective	3	(14)
Vernon Grounds
A Theologian's Perspective	17	(16)
R. Geoffrey Brown
A Geriatrician's Perspective	33	(12)
John Dunlop
ETHICAL ISSUES IN AGING
Does Gray Hair Cause Gray Answers: Ethical Issues in an Aging Population	45	(13)
Robert D. Orr
Age-Based Rationing of Life-Sustaining Health Care	58	(17)
John F. Kilner
Neuropsychological Aspects of Aging and Their Implications for Decision-Making among the Elderly	75	(12)
Robert W. Evans
Dementia: Inclusive Moral Standing	87	(20)
Stephen G. Post
CARING FOR THE AGING
Local Church Ministry to and through Older Adults	107	(14)
Gregory Waybright
The Virtues of Talk Therapy	121	(13)
Stephen P. Greggo
Palliative Care: Suffering and Healing at the End of Life	134	(19)
Jackie Cameron
THE QUEST FOR IMMORTALITY
The Quest for Immortality	153	(10)
C. Ben Mitchell
Reflections on Disability, Life, and God	163	(12)
Linda L. Treloar
In Search of the Philosopher's Clone: Immortality through Replication	175	(18)
William P. Cheshire Jr.
Index	193