Values across Ages

Ending Midlife Bias: New Values for Old Age, by Nancy Jecker, addresses what she sees as Western society's overvaluing of autonomy and undervaluing of dignity, a bias that she sees as particularly unsuited to old age. While she makes a strong case, two main problems challenge her approach. First, she characterizes later life by the diseases and disabilities associated with it, compressing its ever-expanding social space into a narrow location where need trumps desire, and comfort companionship. Second, she considers few other values beyond the antagonism between being granted autonomy and being granted dignity. Human values extend beyond such pairing - and beyond the confines of any particular phase or stage of life. It is as if the author sees old age as an endless succession of Sundays, punctured by dull but respectful visits from grandchildren and great grandchildren. Later life lasts more than one day and deserves more than one value.