Brief Considerations on Human Development Throughout Life

People aged 65+ Vs. a homogeneous group of older people

 

I invite you to reflect on a pressing issue of our time. It is, however, important to begin by pointing out that we start from a positive and appreciative perspective of reality. We also argue that every life matters and that it is fundamental to look at the older person in light of Integral Human Development (IHD). IHD proposes looking at the person (each person) as an end in itself, considering all the dimensions of life: economic, social, cultural, political and spiritual. In other words, “the whole person” (Pope Paul VI, 1967, p.14).

Objectively, human ageing can be approached from a demographic point of view (an increase in the proportion of older people in the total population, due to a decrease in the young and/or active population) and from an individual point of view (the longevity of individuals – an increase in average life expectancy).

Demographic ageing falls into the category of complex social problems, it has multiple causes and multiple possibilities for intervention. The data is sparse, dispersed and not very effective, the disproportion between costs and benefits is frightening, and the different interveners have different perspectives and priorities when faced with the problem. There is no solution to the problem, which is constantly becoming more complex. According to literature, new epistemological approaches and interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary interventions are needed to counteract this cycle and contribute to its resolution.

It is unavoidable that demographic changes entail considerable problems that occupy a large part of the political and scientific debate. In an incessant search for answers that centre on two fundamental levels: society’s real-time responses and prevention to achieve better and more appropriate responses to the population. In this search for answers, it is essential to safeguard the social rights of older people in a fast-ageing society.

Here we must emphasise Spyker (2017) who says that human ageing is not a problem, it has problems associated with it that need to be addressed.

Human ageing is a natural, irreversible, continuous and integral process in the life cycle, and this process can be called lifelong human development (Vaillant, 2003).  Ageing is not synonymous with disease, nor does it foretell fatality, and at each stage of life, individuals reveal a specific view of reality (Vaillant, 2003).

Ageing, in the sense of reaching “late life”, is both a collective and a personal experience. It is a complex and dynamic process between the self, the body and society, i.e., a process that goes beyond chronological and biological changes (Hepworth, 2000). But this process is not always easy and older people, due to multiple factors, tend to be wrongly categorized as a social problem (Spicker, 2017; Wijngarden et al, 2018).

Perspectives on ageing and older people are cultural and social constructs, which justify different views over time, i.e., each historical period experiences its particular ageing. In this sense, human ageing has once been portrayed as the Dark Age of the life cycle (Gergen & Gergen, 2006).

According to Kydd and colleagues (2020), the categories used by gerontology to classify older people are not consensual, and these denominations can contribute to ageism phenomena in the older ages in the life cycle. As such, the authors advocate that the adoption of a classification such as sexagenarians, septuagenarians, etc., would help to alleviate the social stigma of older individuals.

We conclude with a reminder: following the logic of Kydd and colleagues, we realize that sexagenarian, septuagenarian, octogenarian, nonagenarian and centenarian are categories that refer to five decades… five decades… these will surely make it easier to understand that elderly people are far from being a homogenous group.

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