Abstract
Plato's writings express a positive attitude toward elderly people. But do his writings also show a serious theoretical interest in issues of aging? We approach this question by comparing what Plato says about aging to major theoretical issues in gerontology. We argue that many of Plato's subtler observations of the behavior of elderly people and many of his ideas about aging anticipate specific research and theoretical advances in contemporary gerontology. We compare passages in Plato's works to the debate between activity and disengagement theories, the concepts of continuity and gerotranscendence, Robert Butler's discovery of “the life review,” and recent theories of old age wisdom. Plato's anticipation of these ideas and issues related to them suggests that his writings may contain still other major insights into aging which are not yet articulated in gerontology. We suggest three possibilities.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
REFERENCES
Atchley, R. C. (1994). Social Forces and Aging: An Introduction to Social Gerontology. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Atchley, R. C. (1999). Continuity and Adaptation in Aging. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press.
Baltes, P. B., & Staudinger, U.M. (1993). The Search for a Psychology ofWisdom. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2(3), 75–80.
Baltes, P. B., & Staudinger, U. M. (2000). Wisdom: A Metaheuristic (Pragmatic) to Orchestrate Mind and Virtue Toward Excellence. American Psychologist, 55(4), 122–136.
Baltes, P., & Smith, J. (1990). Toward a Psychology of Wisdom and its Ontogenesis. In R. Sternberg (Ed.), Wisdom: Its Nature, Genesis, and Development (pp.87–120). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Beversluis, J. (2000). Cross Examining Socrates: A Defense of the Interlocutors in Plato's Early Dialogues. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Birren, J., & Fischer, L. (1990). The Elements of Wisdom: Overview and Integration. In R. Sternberg (Ed.), Wisdom: It's Nature, Origin, and Development (pp.317–332). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Bloom, A. (1968). The Republic of Plato. New York: Basic Books.
Butler, R. The Life Review: An Interpretation of Reminiscence In The Aged. Psychiatry, Journal for the Study of Interpersonal Processes, 26(1963): pp. 65–76. Rpt. in Philosophical Foundation of Gerontology. Ed. Patrick McKee. New York: Human Sciences Press, 1982.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius. (1923). On Old Age. (Trans.) W.A. Falconer. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Clayton, V., & Birren, J. (1980). The Development ofWisdom Across the Life Span: A Reexamination of an Ancient Topic. Life Span, Development and Behavior, 3, 103–135.
Cornford, F.M. (1945). The Republic of Plato. London: Oxford University Press.
Cumming, E., & Henry, W. (1961). Growing Old: The Process of Disengagement. New York: Basic Books.
de Grazia, S. (1961). The Uses of time. In Robert G. Kleemier (Ed.), Aging and Leisure (pp. 113–154). New York: Oxford University Press.
Guttmann, D. (1976). Alternative to Disengagement: The Old Men of Highland Druze. In J.F. Gubrium (Ed.), Time, Roles, and Self in Old Age (pp. 88–109). New York: Human Sciences Press.
Guttmann, D. (1987). Reclaimed Powers: Toward a New Psychology of Men and Women in Later Life. New York: Basic Books.
Havighurst, R. J., Neugarten, B. L. & Tobin, S. S. (1968). Disengagement and Patterns of Aging. In B. L. Neugarten (Ed.), Middle Age and Aging (pp.161–172). Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Hendricks, J., & Hendricks, D. C. (1981). Aging in Mass Society: Myths and Realities. Cambridge: Winthrop Publishers, Inc.
Hess, B. B., & Markson, E. (1980). Aging and Old Age: An Introduction to Social Gerontology. New York: MacMillan.
Hooyman, N. R., & Ausman Kiyak, H. (1991). Social Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Kramer, D. A. (2000). Wisdom as a Classical Source of Human Strength: Conceptualization and Empirical Inquiry. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(1), 83–101.
Labouvie-Vief, G. (1990). Wisdom as Integrated Thought: Historical and Developmental Perspectives. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins, and Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McKee, P. (1990). Old Age in the Chinese Mountain Landscape. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 24, 59–74.
McKee, P., & Barber, C. (1999). On DefiningWisdom. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 49(2), 149–164.
Merriam, S. (1980). The Concept and Function of Reminiscence: A Review of the Research. The Gerontologist, 20, 604–610.
Montaigne, M. de. (1943). On Age. In Donald Frame (Trans.), The Complete Works of Montaigne. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Moody, H. R. (2000). Aging: Concepts and Controversies, third edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Nettleship, R. L. (1961). Lectures on the Republic of Plato. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Plato. (1956a). The Republic. In W.H.D. Rouse (Trans.) and E. H. Warmington & P. G. Rouse Eds.), Great Dialogues of Plato. New York: Mentor Books.
Plato. (1956b). The Apology. op. cit.
Plato. (1961a). Crito. In H. Tredinnick (Trans.) and E. Hamilton & H. Cairns (Eds.), The Collected Dialogues of Plato. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Plato. (1961b) Laws. (Trans.) A.E. Taylor. op. cit.
Ram-Prasad, C. (1995). A Classical Indian Philosophical Perspective on Aging and the Meaning of Life. Aging and Society, 15, 1–36.
Sternberg, R. (1998). A Balance Theory of Wisdom. Review of General Psychology, 2, 347–365.
Sternberg, R. (Ed.). (1990a). Wisdom: Its Nature, Origin, and Development. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. (1990b). Wisdom and Its Relation to Intelligence and Creativity. In R. Sternberg (Ed.) op. cit.
Taranto, M. (1989). Facets of Wisdom: A Theoretical Synthesis. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 29(1), 1–21.
Tornstam, L. (1989). Gerotranscendence: A Reformulation of the Disengagement Theory. Aging 1(1), 55–63.
Tornstam, L. (1992). The Quo Vadis of Gerontology: On the Scientific Paradigm in Gerontology. The Gerontologist, 32(3), 318–326.
Tornstam, L. (1996). Geotranscendence: A Theory About meaning into Old Age. Journal of Aging and Identity, 1(1), 37–50.
Tornstam, L. (1997). Geotranscendence: The Contemplative Dimension of Aging. The Journal of Aging Studies, 11(2), 143–154.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McKee, P., Barber, C.E. Plato's Theory of Aging. Journal of Aging and Identity 6, 93–104 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011340414462
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011340414462