OLD AGE IN THE DISCOURSE OF PHILOSOPHY

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The phenomenon of old age has been the subject of philosophical inquiry for thousands of years. Deep thinkers have discussed basic notions of life, such as life course, the sense of life, the experience of aging, the fear of death, hatred and disrespect to the elderly. Plato and other ancient thinkers emphasize on distortions of character and bodily decay as markers of ageing. However, they also agree that old age gives opportunities for “immaterial pleasures which were earlier ignored or underdeveloped,” such as intellectual faculties, deep meaning of life, friendliness. The Middle Ages, although advocated Christian ideals, also promoted the idea of decline with the frightening dark image of old age and the isolation of the elderly which flourished even more during the period of industrialization in the 19 century. Our contemporary society, in the words of Baars, called the “premier philosopher of aging”, is greatly influenced by two contradicting tendencies: firstly, “premature cultural senescing” when people usually live longer but are called old at earlier ages; and secondly, the desire to stay young but grow older. As it is assumed in the review of his book Aging and the Art of Living, “these paradoxes result from the contradictory desires of long life and infinite youth. Our culture produces them because it suppresses and tries to control finitude and our increasing vulnerability over time”.