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Philosophy of Life and Aging

Philosophy of Life and Aging

Code	15585
Year	2
Semester	S2
ECTS Credits	6
Workload	OT(15H)/TP(45H)
Scientific area	Philosophy
Entry requirements	not applicable
Learning outcomes	This course is an introduction to the philosophy of life and aging, with the aim of presenting the main theoretical approaches to the subject in the tradition of philosophical thought, and fostering critical reflection and the capacity for reasoned appreciation of the perspectives on living and aging in contemporary society and its transitions. At the end of the course unit the learner is expected to be able to (i) problematize the categorizations of life, death and aging in the light of the philosophical thought tradition and the phenomenology of life (ii) critically discuss and evaluate the individual and communitarian impacts that the contemporary epochal configuration brings to the experience and perception of aging, living and dying.
Syllabus	I. LIFE AND FINITUDE 1. The ephemerality of life and the promises of eternal life [Pindar and Homer] 2. The examined life and training for death [Plato] 3. Vital functions, forms of life and the desire for a good life [Aristotle] 4. Knowledge and the flavor of living [Epicureanism and Stoicism] 5. Life as a horizon of exposure and vulnerability [M. Heidegger and M. Henry] II. AGING AND MEANING 6. Meaning of aging and “consented” aging [Cícero and L. Ferry] 7. Art of aging and aging with art [A. Schopenhauer and C. Jung] 8. Gerontology: epistemic approach and interdisciplinary links 9. Current challenges of aging: between mystification and discrimination
Main Bibliography	Mandatory reading ARISTÓTELES, Acerca da alma, Lisboa: INCM, 2010 CÍCERO, Saber envelhecer, Porto Alegre: L&PM Pocket, 1997 HENRY Michel, «O pathos da vida vivida do vivente», in Du communisme au capitalisme. Theorie d’une catastrophe, Paris: Odile Jacob, 1990 JUNG Carl, «Forma comportamental e arquétipo; As etapas da vida humana; A alma e a morte», in A natureza da psique, Petrópolis: Vozes, 2000 Complementary consultation [focusing on aging] FERREIRA A. Manuel (org.), A Luz de Saturno: Figurações da Velhice, Aveiro: DLC Universidade de Aveiro, 2005 FONSECA A. Manuel, Desenvolvimento humano e envelhecimento, Lisboa: Climepsi Editores, 2005 NAZARETH J. Manuel, Crescer e envelhecer: constrangimentos e oportunidades do envelhecimento demográfico, Lisboa: Editorial Presença, 2009 ROBERT Ladislas, O envelhecimento, Lisboa: Instituto Piaget, 1995
Language	Portuguese. Tutorial support is available in English.