Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 2 of 2
Personhood, identity and care in advanced old age
- Authors:
- HIGGS Paul, GILLEARD Chris
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 208
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Pushing forward new sociological theory, this book explores the theoretical and practical issues raised by age and infirmity. It begins with a theoretical examination of the fourth age, interrogating notions of agency, identity and personhood, as well as the impact of frailty, abjection and ‘othering’. It then applies this analysis to issues of care. Key topics covered in this book include: advanced old and the fourth age paradigm; defining personhood and identity; understanding frailty; understanding abjection; cognitive, emotional and social aspects of caring for frail old people; organisational and policy aspects of caring for frail old people; care work and bodywork; and care and the limits of personhood. (Edited publisher abstract)
Interrogating personhood and dementia
- Authors:
- HIGGS Paul, GILLEARD Chris
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 20(8), 2016, pp.773-780.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: To interrogate the concept of personhood and its application to care practices for people with dementia. Method: The authors outline the work of Tom Kitwood on personhood and relate this to conceptualisations of personhood in metaphysics and in moral philosophy. Results: The philosophical concept of personhood has a long history. The metaphysical tradition examines the necessary and sufficient qualities that make up personhood such as agency, consciousness, identity, rationality and second-order reflexivity. Alternative viewpoints treat personhood as a matter of degree rather than as a superordinate category. Within moral philosophy personhood is treated as a moral status applicable to some or to all human beings. Conclusion: In the light of the multiple meanings attached to the term in both metaphysics and moral philosophy, personhood is a relatively unhelpful concept to act as the foundation for developing models and standards of care for people with dementia. Care, the author suggest, should concentrate less on ambiguous and somewhat abstract terms such as personhood and focus instead on supporting people's existing capabilities, while minimising the harmful consequences of their incapacities. (Edited publisher abstract)