Age-Adapted Wellbeing in a Consolation for Old Age (original) (raw)
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Roman Views on ‘Active Ageing’ – Lessons Against Ageism
EU and Comparative Law Issues and Challenges Series, 2020
Mostly due to negative demographic trends and unfavourable ratios between the inactive and active working population, prejudiced ideas against older people, that they are unproductive and redundant, are contributing to discrimination and their exclusion. Although human rights should not diminish with age, we are nowadays witnessing discriminatory practices against the older persons considering employment, social protection and access to services. The social construct of 'ageism', according to which older people are treated differently because of the attitudes relating to their age, is not a contemporary idea. Rather, it is a human rights issue that has existed throughout history. Examining the extremely positive and negative descriptions of elderly in ancient Roman literature, the first part of this article contains an analysis of the legal and social position of older people and, consequentially, their contribution to society. Focusing on the concept of 'active ageing', specifically propagated by the Article 25 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the second part of the paper will tackle the existing efforts of the EU in the struggle against ageism. Although Croatian national legislation is largely aligned with the European acquis, due to the large margin of discretion left to Member States, a systematic approach to care for the elderly is still lacking, not to mention its effective implementation. Finally, by exploring the experiences from the past and reflecting on the current EU policy advancements, the goal of this paper is to facilitate a vital shift from the paradigm of the old people as a burden of passive service recipients towards active participants in society.
Psychological adaptation and virtue: Geropsychological perspectives on Cicero's De Senectute
Journal of Aging Studies, 1993
That there is nothing new under the sun is certainly confirmed if one reads Cicero's De Senectute from the perspective of the psychology of aging: Cicero's Cato, speaking from a vantage point several centuries removed from the scientific study of aging, eloquently and accurately predicts many of the current issues in the field. On the one hand there are predictions that share manifest similarities with current perspectives, specifically his views on intellect, personality, and psychopathology. While these similarities may seem more or less cosmetic, they are none the less disconcerting given the time that separates this opinionated soliloquy from our more "objective" contemporary approaches. On the other hand, less cosmetic, and less disconcerting than they are downright disturbing, there are underlying themes or latent similarities shared by Cato's argument and scientific geropsychology. In particular, this essay will focus on his prescriptive (rather than descriptive) account of the relationship between a happy old age and the practice of virtue.
Continuity and change: Four disciplinary perspectives on reading Cicero's De Senectute
Journal of Aging Studies, 1993
The articles which follow were originally presented as part of the panel, "Often Cited, Seldom Read" at the 1992 annual meeting of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. Gerontology often claims to be at the very least multidisciplinary in approach. We tested that claim by asking scholars from several disciplines but with the same interest in aging to apply their particular perspectives to a common text, Cicero's Cato Major de Senectute, or Cato the Elder on Old Age. The original articles
The ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Galen on the elderly
2017
Let's start with two Greek poems, one modern and one ancient to give the stigma of my contribution which embodies the aphorism "It is not how old you are, it is how you are old" 1. These two poems in juxtaposition parallel the two Janus' like faces of Old Age. The first poem is: The Souls of Old Men Inside their worn, tattered bodies dwell the souls of old men. How unhappy the poor things are and how bored by the pathetic life they live. How they tremble for fear of losing that life, and how much they love it, those befuddled and contradictory souls, sitting-half comic and half tragicinside their old, threadbare skins written by Constantinos Kavafys at the first half of the 20 th century 2. And the second one is the final comments by Chorus in the tragedy "Antigone" 3 : "The most important thing in For the sake of brevity, we will deal here with a very small fraction of the texts of ancient Greek writers on Old Age, in a period of roughly 600 years between the 5 th century BC and the 2 nd century AD. And geographically also, the area covered is but a negligent fraction of the globe. Aim. To comment on a very small fraction of the texts of ancient Greek writers on Old Age, in a period of roughly 600 years between the 5 th century BC and the 2 nd century AD. Materials and methods. We used extracts from the writings of Plato (The Republic), Aristotle (De Anima), Plutarch (Vitae Parallelae, Moralia) and Galen (De Marcore Liber). Results. Plato presents two sides of the stance of elderly, i.e. continuity (to continue to do what they were doing in their active years), and disengagement (describes the tendency after some age to go away from your previous straggles and to contemplate on the eternal values of spirituality). Aristotle explains why in old age death is painless, like the shutting out of a tiny feeble flame. Plutarch elaborates extensively on the need to accumulate physical and mental qualifications when we are young so that we can be able to consume them later, in our old age. He declares that "although old age has much to be shameful of, at least let us not to add the disgrace of wickedness". Finally, the social role of each person shall not mutate with age. Even bees do not become drones when they age. Galen supports the view that ageing is inevitable, although this is only confirmed by experience and not by science. Conclusions. According to the cited authors it could be said that it is the cordial acceptance by elders of the limitations of age the term that will ensure their cordial acceptance by individuals of all ages living in society.
Today, Maximianus (6th cent. A.D.) is (too) often considered a marginal poet. Students of late Latin literature usually know and (not infrequently) admire his poetry, but he is rarely a subject of more regular lectures or seminars. It is generally found quite surprising that already among his contemporaries and later, throughout the Middle Ages, he was seen as an authority, an author worth being imitated and studied, also at schools. Maximianus’s elegiac oeuvre (since Pomponius Gauricus’s 1501(/1502) edition unnecessarily divided into six separate elegies and, needless to say, for quite a long time attributed to Cornelius Gallus) is too rich in themes, too intertextual, too intergeneric to be summed up with one simple label. But it is a fact that for his medieval readers Maximianus was particularly attractive for his vivid descriptions of mala senectutis. Hence, it was mainly the so-called ‘elegy’ 1 to be read and imitated. In the present paper I first discuss some most influential Maximianus’s passages treating of the afflictions of old age and later show their interpretations and reinterpretations by Columbanus (543 – 615), Eugenius of Toledo († 657), and the anonymous author of the ninth century Imitatio Maximiani. I also point out Maximianus’s presence in vernacular medieval literature, namely English. Last but not least, I demonstrate how Maximianus’s image of an old man praying to Mother Earth inspired one of medieval scribes copying his text.
Historical reality and literature : the ridicule of old age in Rome
Graeco-Latina Brunensia, 2022
Literature is a magnificent way of knowing the reality of life, even when it presents a modified version through the use of fantasy, hyperbole, literary resources, and a host of different elements. Through literature, we can glimpse and therefore identify many aspects of what constituted daily life and the concerns, desires, and aspirations of the society of the time. These aspects make literature a valuable instrument for gaining an understanding, albeit indirectly, of historical reality as a whole, and of old age in this particular case; more specifically, the ridicule suffered by the elderly in ancient Rome and the respect they received.
2023
This is an uncorrected pre-proof version. In his philosophical works Cicero addresses a number of questions concerning the role of old men in politics, most obviously in his dialogue De senectute of 44 BCE. How best should the old participate in politics and the wider community—what, if anything, do the old have to offer that is special or unique? How should the generations fit together in the body politic, and should age be a factor in the structural organisation of states? Should the old rule? Through a close reading of De senectute, I argue: (1) Cicero develops a coherent line on the special political role of old men, which can be seen as a call to arms in the contemporary Roman political context; and (2) this line is not just a restatement of traditional Roman ideals: Cicero draws on and adapts some of the most important arguments from Plato’s Republic and his earlier De re publica when addressing these questions regarding the role of old men in politics.