Valuing Older People

by Edmondson, Ricca

• ISBN13: 9781847422910
• ISBN10: 1847422918
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-07-01
• Publisher: Policy Pr

Summary

How can we understand older people as real human beings, value their wisdom, and appreciate that their values and principles both matter in themselves and are affected by those of others? Using a life-course approach, this book claims that the complexity and potential creativity of later life demands a more humanistic vision of older people and ageing. This new approach would allow greater inclusion of older people, stressing the value of 'ties of recognition and concern' which bind all human beings together. At the same time, it acknowledges the different experiences of older age and the diversity of meanings connected with them. This book presents a range of contexts and methodologies through which such meanings can be understood. It interprets ageing as a process of creating meaning, carried out by older people but significant for those around them, and influenced by the norms and values of their societies.

Table of Contents

List of tables and figures	p. v
Notes on contributors	p. vi
Acknowledgements	p. x
Foreword	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Religion, spirituality, cultural resources and creating meaning
Religious belonging and spiritual questioning: a Western European perspective oh ageing and religion	p. 23
Spirituality: a means for achieving integration in personal and community spheres in an ageing Singapore	p. 37
Integrating the sacred in creative ageing	p. 51
Atheist convictions, Christian beliefs or 'keeping things open? Patterns of world views among three generations in East German families	p. 73
Beyond dialogue: entering the fourth space in old age	p. 91
Norms, values and gerontology
The long road to a moralisation of old age	p. 107
How to balance generations: solidarity dilemmas in a European perspective	p. 123
Pension systems and the challenge of population ageing: what does the public think?	p. 139
Ethos of care and environment in long-stay care settings: impacts on residents' lives	p. 161
Engineering substantially prolonged human lifespans: biotechnological enhancement and ethics	p. 177
Ageing and wisdom? Conflicts and contested developments
Wisdom: a humanist approach to valuing older people	p. 201
Social practices, moral frameworks and religious values in the lives of older people	p. 217
'Woo-hoo, what a ride!' Older people, life stories and active ageing	p. 233
Does eldership mean anything in the contemporary West?	p. 249
Talk about old age, health and morality	p. 261
Afterwords
Exploring positive images of ageing: the production of calendars	p. 277
Gateways to humanistic gerontology	p. 283
Index	p. 289
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