Age shall not wither us
Kate Jones
Age cannot wither
her, nor custom stale
her infinite variety.
Anthony and Cleopatra Act 2, scene 2
Some neuroscientists believe that we are at a
new frontier in the evolution of human
consciousness. Harvard developmental
psychologist, Robert Keegan, believes that, in
addition to the four stages of development that
have already been established, our increased
longevity means that there is now the possibility of
a fifth stage. But what is even more interesting is
his hypothesis that what we are witnessing is a
further stage in the evolution of humanity. He
posits the idea that we are living longer for a
reason - to preserve the species. The fifth stage of
development involves, amongst other things, the
capacity to increase our ability to think in more
complex ways: less 'either/or' thinking and more
'both/and' ways of looking at the world. This leads
to not just increased empathy but an increase in
our problem solving skills. The poet John Keats
appears to have been even more precocious than
we thought since he was only in his twenties
when he wrote about the concept of 'negative
capability', the possibility of holding opposing
concepts in the mind simultaneously, an idea that
fits with Keegan's description of the fifth stage. I
think Keegan's idea adds a whole new, and
extremely exciting, spin on the subject of ageing;
one that goes beyond anxiety about pensions and
health care and offers an empowering sense of
optimism for those of us hoping to progress to this
fifth stage.
First of all, let's examine those current anxieties
about increased longevity. At a TED X Women
conference in 2011, Stanford psychologist, Laura
Carstensen, told her audience that, “More years
were added to average life expectancy in the
Diet & Health Today
C20th than all years added across all prior
millennia of human evolution combined.”
That is a staggering statistic and it has been
assumed that an ageing population will mean
huge costs to health care systems and social
security. But does it have to be that way? There
are challenges ahead, it would be simple-minded
not to acknowledge that, but there are also
opportunities to make some dramatic changes in
our attitudes to ageing and to the very
organisation of our Western societies, and maybe
even beyond that to the fast developing countries
elsewhere in the world.
We are all more than familiar with the argument
that people who are now over fifty will have to
work for longer and delay retirement; otherwise
we face the prospect of the younger generation
having to work harder and pay more taxes in
order to be able to support us. But, given this
vastly increased longevity, surely it’s a no brainer
that we should continue working for much longer if
our average lifespan is likely to be nearer to
ninety than sixty to seventy, as it was in 1940
when pensionable retirement age was set at sixty
for women and sixty five for men? Why is this
prospect of a longer working life so often
perceived as a negative?
Is it because we are worried about the cognitive
decline in older workers? Should we be? Up to
date research in neuroscience and psychology
suggests we need a rethink on this too. While it’s
true that you might find yourself unable to
remember the name of a colleague you were
introduced to yesterday, the good news is that you
will be able to think of ways round this
embarrassing predicament more easily than your
younger self. A study in the Journal of
Gerontology 2007 found that older adults get
better at solving interpersonal dilemmas. In the
above case you could try, “You know, I didn’t
catch your second name yesterday” - sometimes
the second name will trigger the first name; or
you could just smile charmingly and 'fess up that
you’re hopeless with names, always have
been…" ; or “I was too busy concentrating on the
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