Age and ageing: What do they mean?

Abstract

It is commonly assumed that chronological time determines our age; that is, that a person's age is determined solely by how long he or she has existed. For instance, someone born in 1990 is 30 years old in 2020. While philosophers have been interested in the metaphysics of time for quite some time now (Godfrey-Smith, 1980;

The complex case of Ellie Anderson

“…There is an ongoing debate both on how much chronological age matters when it comes to healthcare decisions22 23 and rights24 25 and whether adolescents can consent 26. We do not consider in detail whether Ellie’s age plays a role here.…”

“…As a male, it is unlikely she would have been able to access fertility treatment in the UK to have a child without a partner. viii There is an ongoing debate both on how much chronological age matters when it comes to health care decisions 23,24 and rights 25,26 and whether adolescents can consent. 27 We do not consider in detail whether Ellie's age plays a role here.…”

Iän virallinen muuttaminen tulisi sallia

“…Koska syväjäädytettynä ihminen ei ole saanut uusia kokemuksia, ei hän ole myöskään vanhentunut -saattaa joku ajatella. Mutta elämän kokeminen ei ainakaan yksistään vaikuta merkitykselliseltä: emmehän yleensä ajattele, että esimerkiksi koomapotilaat sairaalan pedissä eivät vanhenisi, vaikka he eivät elämäänsä tajuttomana kokisikaan (Räsänen 2021).…”

When biological ageing is desirable? A reply to García-Barranqueroet al

“…I have previously made the same distinction and discussed the merits and drawbacks of different concepts of age in detail. 2 I am inclined to think that chronological age often does not matter (at least not as much as it is generally thought to matter). Some time ago, I even suggested in this journal that because biological age is often a more important concept than chronological age and due to age-related discrimination, some people should be allowed to change their legal age to match it with their biological age rather than chronological age.…”