This comprehensive handbook presents the major philosophical perspectives on the nature, prospects, problems and social context of age and aging in an era of dramatically increasing life-expectancy. The Palgrave Handbook of the Philosophy of Aging is an essential resource for scholars, researchers and advanced students in the philosophy of the self, moral and political philosophy, bioethics, phenomenology, narrative studies and philosophy of economics.

Table of Contents

• 1 Introduction - Geoffrey Scarre
• Part I The Meaning of Aging
• 2 How Old Is Old? Changing Conceptions of Old Age - Christine Overall
• 3 Gerontology versus Geriatrics: Different Ways of Understanding Ageing and Old Age - Chris Gilleard and Paul Higgs
• 4 The Physiology and Psychology of Aging: Should Aging Be Successful or Authentic? - Julian C. Hughes
• 5 Concepts of Time in Age and Aging - Jan Baars
• 6 The Ageing of People and of Things - Geoffrey Scarre
• 7 Aging in Religious Perspective - Charles Taliaferro and Meredith Varie
• 8 Aging in Classical Philosophy - Audrey L. Anton
• 9 Old Age in Existentialist Perspective - Kristana Arp
• 10 Ageing and Modern Jewish Writing and Thought - Michael Mack
• Part II The Experience of Aging
• 11 The Stories of Our Lives: Aging and Narrative - David Carr
• 12 Coming to Terms with Old Age – and Death - Christopher Cowley
• 13 Feeling One's Age: A Phenomenology of Aging - Michael Bavidge
• 14 Aging and the Maintenance of Dignity - Russell Woodruff
• 15 Wisdom and Aging - Charles Taliaferro and Meredith Varie
• 16 Does Self-Identity Persist Into Old Age? - Helen Small
• 17 Dementia and the Nature of Mind - Julian C. Hughes
• 18 ‘This damnable, disgusting old age’: Ageing and (Being) One's Body - Christopher Hamilton
• Part III The Ethics of Aging
• 19 Aging, Getting Older, and the Good Life - Diane Jeske
• 20 Aging as Becoming Oneself: A Philosophical Ethics of Late Life - Thomas Rentsch
• 21 Filial Duties - Diane Jeske
• 22 What do the Old Owe the Young? - Søren Holm
• 23 Benefactors or Burdens? The Social Role of the Old - Andreas Kruse
• 24 Virtue, Ageing and Failing - Mary Margaret McCabe
• 25 Ethical Issues in Dementia Care - Chris Gilleard and Paul Higgs
• Part IV The Future of Aging
• 26 Health Care for Old Age: Rights, Duties and Expectations - Anita Silvers and Mary V. Rorty
• 27 How Long Should People Work? The Debate Over the Retiring Age - Audrey L. Anton
• 28 The Transhumanist Prospect: Developing Technology to Extend the Human Lifespan - Christopher Wareham