Comparing Different Cultural Views on Aging Essay

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Sociocultural Differences in Perspectives on Aging



The Hindu Indian cultural perspective on aging is that life is part of a great cycle in which life, death and rebirth are norms. The Hindu culture believes that if a person is good in his or her life, he or she will be reborn as something better in the next life and that if he or she is not so good, the outcome will be the opposite -- the next life will be something worse (Metcalfe, Metcalfe, 2012). This is the idea of reincarnation that is a major belief in the Hindu culture. Because believers want a better life after they die, they are mindful to be respectful to others in this life -- and this applies to the way in which the treat their elders. Aging is not really viewed as a lamentable process, but rather as a natural step towards the next life that is to come. Indeed, much of the Hindu cultural attitude towards life consists of this feeling of anticipation and preparation -- being mindful of how one should treat others. Views towards aging are based in this belief system.



In my culture, which is Western, aging is viewed almost as an evil in the sense that it is something that is regrettable and we are sad that we even have to deal with it. Our culture really values and promotes Youth -- and even older people try to dress like they are still young and get surgeries to make themselves look young even though they are obviously aging.

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As they get old, many of them end up in homes where professionals are paid to look after them because their families (their own children) do not want to look after them or cannot do so because of work and time constraints. Aging is not something that people look forward to in our culture, and because there is no common belief in reincarnation (or even in an afterlife, except for those who are still Christian, Muslim, etc.) there is very little desire to even think about getting old or how we might help those who age. Instead, we focus on making every moment of our youths last -- which is clearly myopic, since time is ever-fleeting. Thus, there is a kind of despair in our attitude towards aging here in the West.



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References

Metcalf, B., Metcalf, T. (2012). A Concise History of India. London: Cambridge.

Parker, J. (2001). Windows into China. Boston: Brill.

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