The Aging Process as Forward Movement and the Case for Detours and Backward Steps
This article focuses on Pruyser's (Pastor Psychol 24:102-118, 1975) view presented in his article titled "Aging: Downward, Upward, or Forword?" that the later stages of aging are not a downward movement from a higher peak but the continuation of a forward movement, and that manifestat...
| Published in: | Journal of religion and health |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer Science + Business Media B. V.
[2012]
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| In: |
Journal of religion and health
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| Further subjects: | B
Death instinct
B Detours B Forward movement B Gains B Backward steps B Iconic illusion B Karl Menninger B Vital balance B Life span models B Losses B Sigmund Freud B Aging B Paul W. Pruyser |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | This article focuses on Pruyser's (Pastor Psychol 24:102-118, 1975) view presented in his article titled "Aging: Downward, Upward, or Forword?" that the later stages of aging are not a downward movement from a higher peak but the continuation of a forward movement, and that manifestations of gains as well as losses in older adulthood support this view. While expressing agreement with this view I draw on Sigmund Freud's discussion of the death instinct in Beyond the Pleasure Principle (Freud 1920/1959) to suggest that the later stages of the aging process may involve an increase in detours and backward movements. Suggesting that these detours and backward steps are potentially beneficial, I conclude that Freud provides guidelines for how we may view and evaluate the losses and gains that Pruyser identifies as characteristic of the later stages of the aging process. |
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| ISSN: | 1573-6571 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion and health
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s10943-011-9534-0 |