Some analysts of word meaning and word etymology may find the English translation or root of the term ‘gerontology’ as somewhat a form of insult to be used as a name to a particular medical practice that is geared instead in the well being and development of old men. But the main point here is that in the science and method of picking terms to denote a particular thing, the terms are never subject to personal interpretations (Harper, 2001).
The etymology of ‘gerontology’ in itself is nowhere near insulting; according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, ‘gerontology’ was derived from the Greek term ‘Geron’ which means old man and at some degree from the Ossetic term ‘Zarond’ which carries the same meaning. The problem with the analysis of the use of the term ‘old man’ may originate from the fact that when it is used today, the intent was to denote a negative term.
This maybe how this exact term is interpreted by a person who is influenced by a society that considers the term ‘old man’ as something more than what it truly means, perhaps taken in the context of an insult of one person to another (i. e. A person taunting another by saying ‘you cannot run as fast as I can old man’ even when the target of the comment does not actually fit the description of an old man, using the term old man to insult the person by referring to some of his skills as similar to that of a real old man, like the slow action and feeble movement).
The Term Paper on Humanity In One Man Duty Person
Concerning Suicide It seems absurd that a man can injure himself (vol enti non fit [ = to the willing no injustice is done]). The Stoic therefore considered it a prerogative of his personality as a wise man to walk out of this life with an undisturbed mind whenever he liked (as out of a smoke-filled room), not because he was afflicted by actual or anticipated ills, but simply because he could make ...
In popular media, such as the movies and television shows, thugs and men who are physically strong refer to the stereotyped weak, old people as ‘old man’. The term ‘old man’ today may carry a negative meaning to some people because we are living in the age when people are shying away from becoming old (i. e. that is why there are many shops and sciences that alter the body to hide aging, and exercise regimens and vitamins are prescribed to combat old age, which is just plain impossible).
This is not the first time, because in the course of history, there are many times wherein ‘old age’ is not a very favorable stage of life in a person.
The character Gandalf, in the Lord of the Rings movie, referred to himself as ‘an old man’ to appear weak and feeble and used the notion of old man as being unable to show strength to surprise the enemy with his true strength and power. Until being old becomes a social fad that will be accepted, it is expected that the term ‘old man’ will always elicit negative reactions from analysts and observers. In popular martial arts movies, the brainy and strong mentors are always carrying the semblance of an old, feeble man. Still, this wasn’t enough to make ‘being old’ popular enough in modern culture.
Even if some scholars would say that ‘geron’ meant ‘feeble, old man’ and not just ‘old man’, the point of argument here is that old men would soon succumb to being feeble, and that gerontology is in general geared in understanding this nature happening in this particular stage of human senility. To say that men are old and feeble does not mean that they are also considered to be incapable of displaying other strengths; in the contrary, medical professionals treating old men wish for that, but in the end, people should not strive for excessive euphemism to cover for the real realities that happen to every human being.
This is a perfectly natural process and there is no insult in describing someone who is old and feeble as old and feeble. Michel-Eugene Chevreul was considered as the person responsible for the coining of the term in 1903. There were no existing records as to the other terms that Chevreul considered to use for this particular field of science, and quite rightly so; because real scholars hardly concern themselves with things as vain and less important as the naming of the new field of science.
The Term Paper on Gerontology and Social Exchange Theory
Introduction The fundamental biological problem that all theories of aging seek to explain was stated very elegantly in 1957 by Williams when he wrote, “It is indeed remarkable that after a seemingly miraculous feat of morphogenesis, a complex metazoan should be unable to perform the much simpler task of merely maintaining what is already formed.” The difficulty in attempting to ...
Evidently, Chevreul was busy on more important things that really mattered – like getting started in the study of old age. Personally, I would have not preferred any other name, because I do not see the logic in trying to call something with an entirely different term if the original word exactly pertains to that particular thing – an old man is an old man, and the insult in the term would originate not from the term or words itself but by how it is used, understood and interpreted by those who are using it and those who are at the receiving end.
References
Harper, D. (November 2001).
Gerontology. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved February 27, 2008, from http://www. etymonline. com/index. php? term=gerontology The College of Health and Human Development. The Pennsylvania State University (2008).
Why Study Aging?. The Gerontology Center. Retrieved February 27, 2008, from http://gerontology. ssri. psu. edu/education
