Aging and the Meaning of Time: A Multidisciplinary Exploration

by Susan McFadden PhD (Editor), Robert Atchley PhD (Editor)

Overview

As we confront our own mortality, we might ask, "What has my long life meant and how have the years shaped me?" or "How long must I suffer?" Such questions reflect time-consciousness, the focus of this classic volume.

The authors, from diverse disciplines in gerontology, act as guides in the exploration of the realms of time in later life and their meanings. As they examine how the study of time can give new meanings to aging, they also consider the religious and spiritual questions raised when human beings consider the temporal boundaries of life.

This volume honors Melvin Kimble's contributions to gerontology and represents a new direction in the study of religion, spirituality, and aging.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826103826
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	05/03/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Susan H. McFadden, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Robert C. Atchley (PhD), is Professor and Chair of the Department of Gerontology at Naropa University in Boulder.

Read an Excerpt

chapter

Table of Contents

"

Contributors
Foreword by James E. Birren
Preface
Part I: Understanding Time and Aging
1. The Flow of Spiritual Time Amid the Tides of Life, W. Andrew Achenbaum
2. It's About Time, Jon Hendricks
3. Aging, Time Estimation, and Emotion, Quinn Kennedy, Helene H. Fung, and Laura L Carstensen
4. Meaning and the Tenses of Time: A Whiteheadian Perspective, Paul R. Sponheim

Part II: Experiencing Time and Aging
5. Learning, Aging, and Other Predicaments, Armin Grams
6. Voyage in Time, Carter Catlett Williams
7. ""It's 1924 and Somewhere in Texas, Two Nuns Are Driving a Backwards Volkswagen"": Storytelling With People With Dementia, Anne Davis Basting
8. A Personal Journey of Aging: The Spiritual Dimension, Melvin A. Kimble

Part III: Effects of Religious Beliefs and Spiritual Practices on Meanings of Time and Aging
9. The Influence of Spiritual Beliefs and Practices on the Relation Between Time and Aging, Robert C. Atchley
10. Discovering the Spirit in the Rhythm of Time, Marita Grudzen and James P. Oberle
11. The Contemplative Context of Time, Elizabeth Oates Schuster
12. The Job Hypothesis: Gerotranscendence and Life Satisfaction Among Elderly Turkish Muslims, L. Eugene Thomas
13. Chronos to Kairos: Christian Perspectives on Time and Aging, Susan H. McFadden and Jane M. Thibault
    Index

"

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"What has life meant and how long is it worth living for? These and other questions are answered in the multidisciplinary survey Aging and the Meaning of Time, a college-level text perfect for courses on philosophy and health alike. Chapters juxtapose the personal experience of aging with insights on philosophy, health, and metaphysics to provide an excellent survey. A top pick."
—California Bookwatch, August 2006