Selbstständigkeit, bewusst angenommene Abhängigkeit, Selbstverantwortung und Mitverantwortung als zentrale Kategorien einer ethischen Betrachtung des Alters

Abstract

This contribution begins with a brief introduction into some seminal problems of ethics: the search for the essential being of things, the attitude of value consciousness in the context of ethical reflections, and the reflection on models of a 'good life' and on decisions as well as actions in significant moral situations. These introductory statements are illustrated by the example of stoic philosophy. In a second step, independence, consciously accepted dependency, self-responsibility and shared responsibility are discussed as highly significant categories for an ethical analysis of all ages. However these categories must be specified with reference to specific ages. In this contribution, such a specification is carried out for old age focussing on the particular relevance of the four categories for ethical analysis. In a third step, each of the four categories is discussed in detail in the context of basic ethical approaches. In this context, ethical analysis proceeds from the perspectives of the individual, the environment, and the society. Concerning the perspective of the society special interest is offered to societal models of good life in old age which might have an impact on the potential development of a pro-aging culture and shared responsibility in older people. Moreover, these models contribute to older people's ability to use the necessary means of support in cases of dependency and to consciously accept dependency.

Perceived enactment of autonomy of nursing home residents: A German cross‐sectional study

“…High scores of PEA may reflect response patterns of the generation interviewed, such as socially desirable responses (Gove & Geerken, ). Besides, not all NHR want to be active, responsible, and autonomous at all times in their daily lives, rather they make decisions in accordance with their current constitution: 91% of our population agreed to the item “I can choose not to be active.” These findings are consistent with reports by Kruse (), who found that older adults sometimes tend to consciously accept dependency. Others decide to accept support according to the model of learned dependency and selective optimization with compensation (Baltes, ).…”

Generativity as a Route to Active Ageing

“…Most people experience respective opportunities as a source of belongingness, purpose and meaning in life, subjective well-being, and quality of life [ 19 , 28 , 29 ]. Individual's ability and motivation to empathize with other people, to engage for others, to contribute to the fulfillment of other people's needs, and to engage for society as a whole—joint responsibility [ 30 ]—are considered as a basic ethical category in old age.…”

Humor in the elderly with dementia: Development and initial validation of a behavioral observation system

“…SOH is positively associated with well-being and remains a "character strength among the elderly " (Ruch et al 2010). Even in patients with severe dementia, the capacities for experiencing and expressing humor still seem to be preserved (Bär, Kruse & Re 2003;Re 2003;Kruse 2005). The ability to perceive, appreciate and produce humor might be observable throughout all stages of the disease (Falkenberg 2010), and persons with dementia even seem capable to use their sense of humor as a strategic means in communication (Dooley et al 2015).…”