AGEING FROM A PLURALISTIC PERSPECTIVE

• Authors: Slováček Petr
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The issue of old age and ageing covers only the periphery in philosophy. This may be illustrated by taking a look at the history of philosophy within which only a few texts and authors could be found taking pains to shape our understanding of old age. There are two essential reasons for the historical marginal positioning of old age in philosophy: Firstly, the topic of old age and elderly people is less attractive; it struggles to make its way against the great issues of philosophy and is more found in its shade when regarding the issue of death. This statement proves valid both in considering the history of philosophy and modern philosophy within which not many authors pay attention to questions of old age and ageing. Secondly, it was only the qualitative development of environmental conditions, the possibilities of medical science and nursing care in the modern era, and also the low demographic increase in population, that have made the elderly an important part of the population, which, in turn, had them facing a number of challenges: self-realisation, the ideal of youth and, hopefully, the ideal of a successful old age. The article approaches the topic of the elderly, old age, and ageing from what is called a pluralistic position because this can allow for the avoidance of oversimplification which is often connected with the concept of loss.

Keywords

EN

PLURALISM; ELDERLY PEOPLE; PHILOSOPHY; AGEING

• Publisher: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Social Sciences
• Journal: Človek a spoločnosť. Internetový časopis pre pôvodné teoretické a výskumné štúdie z oblasti spoločenských vied
• Year: 2019
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 1 – 9

Contributors

author

Slováček Petr

• Faculty of Public Policies, The Institute of Pedagogical and Psychological Sciences, Silesian University in Opava, Czech Republic

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31577/cas.2019.02.553