Symposium Review: 25th Anniversary of Moral Boundaries by Joan Tronto

In a time of rapid and unprecedented social change, the concepts we use to make sense of the ways in which young people understand and interact with the world are very much under the microscope. Some researchers argue that we need to reinvigorate our conceptual repertoire, while others argue that our theoretical tool box still has the capacity to consider continuities as well as change. Building on an earlier paper, this article provides a rejoinder to recent contributions to this debate written by Woodman and Threadgold. Attending to some misunderstandings, misinterpretations and oversights, the article aims to clarify and re-emphasise some important points I have made previously. In particular, the article argues for a coherent and comprehensive critical review of Beck's corpus before we uncritically and readily incorporate his perspectives into our ways of theorising the contemporary social world.

One step forward, one step Beck: a contribution to the ongoing conceptual debate in youth studies

From Culture Wars to Common Ground: Religion and the American Family Debate@@@From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religon, and Law in the Western Tradition

Holistic, motivational life management in ageing : a gerontological-pastoral perspective

Learning to Practice, Becoming Spiritual: Spiritual Disciplines as Projects of the Self

The biblical love imperative—reframed as “Care for the aging other, as you care for your aging self”—is fundamental for an ethics of aging. Kantian, utilitarian, and eudaemonist theories assume an ageless, rational, active individual. Frail old age, however, comes with dependency and decay. An ethics of aging therefore needs to be relational and must account for the fear of aging. The elderly remind us that death is inescapable; the body, fallible; and self-esteem, transitory. The love command offers a relational ethics that overcomes the fear of aging and enables us to see that love for our aging self makes good elderly care possible.

Loving Later Life: Aging and the Love Imperative

The modern life course is described as a 'choice biography.' Rationality and control, and life planning and self-management are central notions. Instead of rejecting the notion categorically, this article opts for a more balanced approach. The Protestant tradition shares central characteristics with choice biography, as Calvin, Edwards, and Bunyan show. However, there are dissimilarities as well. Fundamental in 'choice biography' is its lack of transcendence. Modern individualism threatens to collapse into one-dimensional secularism and egoism. In retrieving Kierkegaard's legacy, the notion 'choice biography' might undergo a critical re-appraisal. In his philosophy, we find both the absolute value of the individual's choices, and a plea for transcendence.

http://home.kpn.nl/~delangef/artreftheology.pdf

Becoming One Self: A Critical Retrieval of 'Choice Biography'

This paper explores the notion of self-respect as an essential mark of human dignity.  What is this self that deserves respect and what does respecting it mean? ...

/pdf/having-faith-in-yourself-self-respect-and-human-dignity-yape6pqe52.pdf

'having faith in yourself' self-respect and human dignity

How does globalization aff ect the lives of older people? Developments in demography show that the world population is rapidly getting older, and not only in affluent societies. Politically, economically, socially and culturally, the elderly are in a vulnerable position. Is a global ethical response possible? Christian theology should actively support the human rights discourse that pleads for non-discrimination of the elderly in society. Yet, a human rights ethic is unable to account for the stages of life and the specific role of the elderly within communities; these are highlighted within more communitarian approaches. Communitarianism however, has its limitations as well. A global ethic of ageing should not fix the elderly within closed traditions and communities; rather, it requires openness towards other cultures and ways of life. 'Dialogical contextualism' should be the method, and its main question should be: can people globally learn from one another about how to live in dignity into old age? is article concludes with some European refl ections on the dignity of older persons, in which a hermeneutic of the concept of human dignity and empirical findings are brought together. The results may function as an impulse for further intercultural conversation on a global scale.

The Dignity of the Old: Towards a Global Ethic of Ageing

De publieke discussie over ouder worden in Nederland heeft een hoog schijnheilig gehalte. Het lijkt ons allemaal te gaan over goede ouderenzorg, maar onderhuids is er sprake van weerzin tegen de ouderdom. We houden niet van ouderen, we hebben een hekel aan de ouderdom, omdat we er bang voor zijn.

Frits de Lange

Papers

Loving Later Life: Aging and the Love Imperative

Becoming One Self: A Critical Retrieval of 'Choice Biography'

'having faith in yourself' self-respect and human dignity

The Dignity of the Old: Towards a Global Ethic of Ageing

Gerontophobia: de heimelijke weerzin tegen de ouderdom