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Updated: Jun 6, 2025
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Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
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Four modes of embodiment in later life
Hans-Georg Eilenberger1, Jenny Slatman2
1University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Tilburg University, Department of Culture Studies, The Netherlands.
Journal of Aging Studies
|November 28, 2024
Summary
This study proposes a new approach to understanding embodiment in later life, focusing on ambiguity. It identifies four ways older adults experience and respond to aging: the bodily I, it, you, and we.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Social Sciences
- Philosophy
Background:
- Current social gerontology lacks a unified approach to the body, with differing assumptions in frameworks like social constructionism and phenomenology.
- This leads to competing definitions of key concepts such as embodiment and the physical body.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a comprehensive approach to embodiment in later life, using ambiguity as a central concept.
- To overcome existing conceptual distinctions in the study of aging and the body.
Main Methods:
- Drawing on phenomenological philosophy for methodology and theory.
- Conducting an interview study with 16 participants aged over 65 to explore lived experiences of aging.
Main Results:
- Utilizing Bernhard Waldenfels' concept of "bodily responsivity" as a theoretical framework.
- Identifying four distinct modes of responding to aging: "bodily I," "bodily it," "bodily you," and "bodily we."
Conclusions:
- An ambiguity-centered approach offers a more integrated understanding of embodiment in later life.
- The "bodily responsivity" framework provides a novel lens for analyzing older adults' lived experiences of aging.
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