The Long Life

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, European, Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book The Long Life by Helen Small, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Helen Small ISBN: 9780191615573
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: September 16, 2010
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Helen Small
ISBN: 9780191615573
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: September 16, 2010
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

The Long Life invites the reader to range widely from the writings of Plato through to recent philosophical work by Derek Parfit, Bernard Williams, and others, and from Shakespeare's King Lear through works by Thomas Mann, Balzac, Dickens, Beckett, Stevie Smith, Philip Larkin, to more recent writing by Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, and J. M. Coetzee. Helen Small argues that if we want to understand old age, we have to think more fundamentally about what it means to be a person, to have a life, to have (or lead) a good life, to be part of a just society. What did Plato mean when he suggested that old age was the best place from which to practice philosophy - or Thomas Mann when he defined old age as the best time to be a writer - and were they right? If we think, as Aristotle did, that a good life requires the active pursuit of virtue, how will our view of later life be affected? If we think that lives and persons are unified, much as stories are said to be unified, how will our thinking about old age differ from that of someone who thinks that lives and/or persons can be strongly discontinuous? In a just society, what constitutes a fair distribution of limited resources between the young and the old? How, if at all, should recent developments in the theory of evolutionary senescence alter our thinking about what it means to grow old? This is a groundbreaking book, deep as well as broad, and likely to alter the way in which we talk about one of the great social concerns of our time - the growing numbers of those living to be old, and the growing proportion of the old to the young.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Long Life invites the reader to range widely from the writings of Plato through to recent philosophical work by Derek Parfit, Bernard Williams, and others, and from Shakespeare's King Lear through works by Thomas Mann, Balzac, Dickens, Beckett, Stevie Smith, Philip Larkin, to more recent writing by Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, and J. M. Coetzee. Helen Small argues that if we want to understand old age, we have to think more fundamentally about what it means to be a person, to have a life, to have (or lead) a good life, to be part of a just society. What did Plato mean when he suggested that old age was the best place from which to practice philosophy - or Thomas Mann when he defined old age as the best time to be a writer - and were they right? If we think, as Aristotle did, that a good life requires the active pursuit of virtue, how will our view of later life be affected? If we think that lives and persons are unified, much as stories are said to be unified, how will our thinking about old age differ from that of someone who thinks that lives and/or persons can be strongly discontinuous? In a just society, what constitutes a fair distribution of limited resources between the young and the old? How, if at all, should recent developments in the theory of evolutionary senescence alter our thinking about what it means to grow old? This is a groundbreaking book, deep as well as broad, and likely to alter the way in which we talk about one of the great social concerns of our time - the growing numbers of those living to be old, and the growing proportion of the old to the young.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book New Hart's Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors by Helen Small
Cover of the book Fundamental Rights in Europe by Helen Small
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Historical Institutionalism by Helen Small
Cover of the book The IMLI Treatise On Global Ocean Governance by Helen Small
Cover of the book The Invisible Enemy by Helen Small
Cover of the book Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future by Helen Small
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Death and Burial by Helen Small
Cover of the book Jude the Obscure by Helen Small
Cover of the book The Transformation of Foreign Policy by Helen Small
Cover of the book Pater the Classicist by Helen Small
Cover of the book Sentimental Education by Helen Small
Cover of the book Baudelaire in Song by Helen Small
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Hypnosis by Helen Small
Cover of the book On Liberty, Utilitarianism and Other Essays by Helen Small
Cover of the book Hart's Postscript by Helen Small
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy