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The Self as Process in Late-Life Reminiscence: Spiritual Attributes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2008

Edmund Sherman  and
Theodore A. Webb
Edmund Sherman
Affiliation:
School of Social Welfare, State University of New York at Albany, Richardson Hall, 135 Western Avenue, Albany, New York 12222, U.S.A.
Theodore A. Webb
Affiliation:
Minister Emeritus of the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Sacramento, California, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Ageing has been referred to as a spiritual journey. Empirical data from gerontological research and paractice literature on the phenomenon of late-life reminiscence reveal a sense of self as process, and ageing as a spiritual journey for a number of older persons. The empirical data experiential reports on reminiscence from the elderly themselves point to a life trajectory of ‘joruney’ of the self that moves from a possessive attachment to an identification with the physical self, significant others, and material belongings to a view of self as a process, as ‘being’ rather than ‘having’ within and as part of a larger process. A process conception of the self derived from William James, contemporary social science, and process theology is delineated to explain the nature of this journey and this process. Two older women who illustrate the process conception of self in their reminiscences are presented, followed by a discussion of the spiritual implications of this conception.

Keywords

Selfreminiscenceprocess conceptionageing as spiritual journey
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , June 1994 , pp. 255 - 267
Copyright
Copyright Cambridge University Press 1994

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