Transcendence in Later Life

Abstract

A shift in how we reevaluate our world and our place in it. When the theory first was introduced in the early 1960s (Cumming and Newell, 1960; Cumming and Henry, 1961), theoretical discussions of it turned into something like a riot. The theory assumed an intrinsic tendency to disengage and withdraw when growing old, which was supposed to go hand in hand with the tendency of society to reject aging individuals. The theory of ran counter not only to the widely accepted theory of activity, which held that individuals who remained engaged aged more successfully, but also to the personal values held by many gerontologists and their wishes regarding what reality ought to be like. It is not surprising, then, that the theory of was perceived as threatening and uninviting and that much time and effort were expended during the next two decades to disprove the theory, which has since been regarded almost with disdain. But might it be that some of the baby was thrown out with the bathwater? Indeed, some who study aging began to ask whether certain aspects of the theory might have an overlooked strength, in many cases based on their own subjective experience. For example, the nowdeceased Polish gerontologist Jerzy Piotrowski, who had himself participated in the process of disproving the theory later stated that it perhaps had some theoretical strength after all, based on evidence that, he said, comes from withinmyself. Subjective reports from staff working with old people have also pointed to some hidden theoretical strength in the theory Care providers have reported that their feelings are very mixed when trying to activate certain old people. The workers say that while they believe that activity is good, they nevertheless have the feeling that they are doing something wrong when they try to drag some older people to various forms of social activity or activ ity therapy. The caregivers say they feel that they are trespassing on something they ought to respect and leave alone. Other, more solid indicators have also pointed to the notion that the theory might in some ways be valid, For example, in my study of experiences of loneliness among inhabitants of Sweden 15 to 80 years of age (Tornstam, 1988, 1990), it was shown, contrary to our expectations, that the degree of loneliness decreased with age- despite role and other losses. It was the young respondents, not the old ones, who reported the highest degrees of loneliness. Maybe these experiences and observations could be understood if what we earlier had defined as a negative disengagement was reconstructed within a new framework- a framework that allows developmental changes in the way we define reality and ourselves as we age. In an early lecture, Jung (1930) stated that the meaning and the tasks of old age are quite different from those tasks of midlife. In the first part of life, the task is getting acquainted with and socialized to society, whereas the task in old age is getting acquainted with yourself and with what Jung called the collective unconscious. Much of this process can be understood as a transcendental change of the definitions of reality. With these considerations in mind, I began to formulate the theory of gerotranscendence (Tornstam, 1989). Gerotranscendence is the final stage in a natural process moving toward maturation and wisdom. Gerotranscendence implies the construction of a reality somewhat different from the view commonly held in midlife, which gerontologists and practitioners tend to project on old age. According to the theory, the gerotranscendent individual experiences a new feeling of cosmic communion with the spirit of the universe, a redefinition of time, space, life, and death, and a redefinition of the self. The theory suggests that through aging, or rather living, the degree of transcendence increases. …

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