In the Philosophical Counselling column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, the professor revisits the problem of ageing.
The world is now entering the “homo hundred” era, where the population over 100 years old is rapidly increasing. South Korea, in particular, is experiencing the fastest and most widespread aging of its population globally, due to declining birth rates and increasing average life expectancy.
The problem lies in the fact that society perceives the elderly as unnecessary beings without economic capacity in terms of normality and usefulness. The unfair social perception that isolation, loneliness, economic deprivation, and dependence on others are inevitable destinies of old age serves as a principle justifying stigma, discrimination, and exclusion against the elderly. Simone de Beauvoir's (1908–1986) statement that “perceptions of old age evoke feelings of disgust greater than those associated with death itself” aptly expresses how psychologically dreadful we consider old age to be.
American philosopher Martha Nussbaum (1947–) distinguishes between “primitive disgust” and “projective disgust.” Primitive disgust is a natural emotion that arises from self-protection and survival instincts, formed when one feels fear of the possibility of being contaminated by animalistic substances such as bodily secretions, decaying corpses, vomit, excrement, insects, and blood.
On the other hand, projective disgust is an emotion that reflects the psychology of society's members, causing them to reject certain groups or individuals by attributing repulsive characteristics to them. Disgust is an emotion that straddles the boundary between life and death, and behind it lies a deep sense of anxiety and fear of death. The elderly, who stand at the boundary between life and death, remind us of decaying animalistic qualities, which stimulates anxiety in those who see them. In the process of resolving this anxiety, people develop a desire to actively exclude them.
As a result, a society that hates the elderly implicitly separates the elderly and the young through artificial and imaginary boundaries, maintaining an idealized image of the young and productive body, thereby instilling fear within us. Thus, the phenomenon of aging, which was once accepted as a natural part of life, has been pushed out of the realm of life and reduced to an object that must be actively managed. However, hatred becomes widespread in all rigid and fixed areas where differences are turned into boundaries. To counter hatred, the elderly themselves must overcome exclusionary boundaries to avoid becoming victims of self-hatred.
To radically change society's view of old age, individuals must first defend themselves against ageism, which breeds hatred. The rigid and fixed worldview is dependent and vulnerable.
To bring about a radical change in society's view of old age, individuals must first defend themselves against ageism, which causes hatred. Elderly people, who are dependent and vulnerable, should be respected. A shift in perspective is needed to recognize them as unique beings with dignity and value.
Only then can the elderly break free from the stereotypes they have internalized, gain the inner strength to resist discrimination and exclusion by breaking the hierarchical order of society, and break the paradigm of projective hatred that society constantly reproduces, allowing them to age healthily. Old age is the final stage of life on earth, a time to live with grace, a precious gift bestowed upon us.
