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}Jon, List
Thank you so much for this post. I so very much agree with you - how
I wish that some people would move, out of the safe sophistry of the
seminar room, as I call it, and into the real world - where the
sciences ARE ACTIVE in how we deal with this real world.
Edwina
On Tue 31/08/21 11:30 AM , Jon Awbrey jawb...@att.net sent:
All,
Continuing with our Phenomenological∫Phaneroscopic survey of
colleges and their course catalogues, let's take up the sample
Gary R. supplied and see how Phenomenology is manifested there.
Searching the Azusa Pacific University site on “Phenomenology” I
get exactly one hit:
•
https://www.apu.edu/articles/search/?q=Phenomenology&Search=#results
[1]
Result 1
On Living and Aging: The Voices of the Oldest Old
Over the course of their very long lives, these oldest-old people
developed vibrant habits of the heart and mind that inspired them
to focus on the good and live with gratitude.
•
https://www.apu.edu/articles/on-living-and-aging-the-voices-of-the-oldest-old/
[2]
The haul this time is one superb article. It exemplifies one of the
most important and interesting styles of phenomenology as I knew it
in the real world of qualitative observational research studies.
It would do a few of the members of this List a world of good
to come down from their Phaneroscopic Towers and study what
real researchers in real sciences do on their day jobs.
Regards,
Jon
>
> On Living and Aging: The Voices of the Oldest Old by Julie Pusztai
>
> Hardly a day passed when I did not talk to someone growing old or
someone with an aging parent, spouse, family
> member, or friend. This includes my own father, a member of that
growing population age 85 and older—the oldest old.
> I wondered how they lived with all the changes and was eager to
understand. Phenomenology, my doctoral research
> approach, provided a way to listen to them—to examine this most
ordinary, yet extraordinary, experience of growing
> very, very old with its losses and gains, sadness and happiness,
satisfaction and disappointment, and sense of
> meaning and purpose.
>
> Phenomenology investigates the actual lived experience of a
phenomenon by describing and interpreting narrative data.
> Thirteen people from 87 to 100 years old who represented diverse
backgrounds, ethnicities, and genders participated
> in my study. They shared their stories with me during three
separate interviews that focused on their life history,
> typical day, and experiences of aging. Each approached these late
years influenced by the unique context of their
> past, present, and envisioned future. All had their own tale to
tell, and all shared with honesty.
>
> Most people recognize the physical changes that occur as a result
of living a very long life. When the body reaches
> oldest-old age, it speaks loudly. Caregivers must listen
attentively to gauge the impact this has on the individual’s
> life and the person’s resulting daily challenges. Practical
matters need attention and falls must be prevented.
> Slowness and fatigue persist, and living with pain may become the
new normal. Losses of vision, hearing, and memory,
> even the ability to walk without assistance, usually lead to
surrendering drivers’ licenses and the dreaded decrease
> of independence and increase of dependence. While all of these
limitations produced significant, personal meaning, it
> was through listening and relistening to the narratives of these
13 people that I began discerning the hard work and
> intentionality used to prevent these challenges and changes from
determining their attitudes. They walk on a
> tightrope, gripping their balance pole to remain hopeful and
positive.
>
> One factor that helps them maintain that balance is staying
connected, largely through family. The narrators
> explained that they gained great satisfaction from strengthening
family ties, discovering the trustworthiness of
> children, and feeling celebrated and important to others. And
while most identified aspects of a satisfying life,
> some could not. A few respondents stated: “I can’t think of
anything positive.” Such bleakness and discouragement
> signal a red flag to caregivers and loved ones to respond with
support and encouragement.
>
> Those who exhibited prevailing positivity, however, revealed a
common pattern. Over the course of their very long,
> and at times difficult, lives, these oldest-old people developed
vibrant habits of the heart and mind that inspired
> them to focus on the good and live with gratitude. One comment
still rings in my ears: “What does it profit?” Without
> exception, these wise elders recognized that no good comes from
dwelling on the challenges and changes that
> confronted them. Instead, “I like thinking of good things,”
“I just go with the flow,” and “I choose to be positive”
> became lifelong practices. They consider themselves survivors, and
they have a discipline that leads them to hope and
> positivity. As an 88-year-old woman expressed, “It’s a thing
of learning . . . learning a new way of being and
> doing.” The themes of “I can” and “I cannot” in the
aging experience take on deep and rich meaning when employed to
> understand the losses at that stage of life. This resulted in
corresponding changes in the “I ams” and “I am nots”
> and the relinquishment of long-held notions of identity. In the
face of this, we can recognize and support the
> resilience in these survivors and affirm new ways of being.
>
> Very old age reminds us all of our mortality. These people in
their ninth and tenth decades took advantage of today,
> knowing tomorrow cannot be taken for granted. This boundary speaks
to them about what is meaningful, what matters,
> and where to channel their energy. Living in positive
relationships provides the love, care, and source of purpose
> and meaning for being in the world. They serve as reminders of
meaning that can get lost when one is weary, the days
> are long, and the walk on the tightrope seems especially arduous.
Helping our aging loved ones work through losses
> and find purpose constitutes a foundation of support. While
spending time with the oldest old, I had the pleasure to
> learn that on most days, they balance on that tightrope; they
taught me the importance of not yoking our most senior
> seniors with the burden of aging “successfully.” Instead, we
need to know such elders well, understand what aging
> means to them, and hold them close, knowing that we will most
likely inherit their place and seek to do so with the
> same measure of grace and dignity we can learn from them.
>
> Posted: July 18, 2016
>
> Julie Pusztai, Ph.D., RN, is director of the Azusa Neighborhood
Wellness Center and an assistant professor in the
> School of Nursing. jpusz...@apu.edu [3]
>
> Originally published in the Summer '16 issue of APU Life. Download
the PDF or view all issues.
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