Belief, spirituality and meaning

This is a book intended to make some contribution to filling what has become a large gap in the study of ageing, especially in the UK. We have learned so much in the last half century about the biological, social and psychological processes involved in human ageing, but we have neglected the spiritual dimension. This neglect is the more surprising when one takes into account that the later stages of life raise fundamental questions about the purpose and meaning of life, for example finding justification for continued living in states of diminished physical or social functioning (Howse, 1999; Polivka, 2000). In the not so distant past most older people sought and received answers to such questions from the ordinary wisdom present within their culture and provided largely by religious bodies whose presence was pervasive throughout the culture. But western society is now increasingly fragmented, and individuals often have to search for their own answers in relative isolation from one another. They are much less likely to draw strength or take refuge in collective beliefs about the meaning of life and suffering.

The title of this book emphasises belief. This is a deliberate choice, because the concept of belief, although not without its difficulties, is less complex than either spirituality or religion. Life is unimaginable without belief. We may like to think that our actions are for the most part based on secure knowledge but a little reflection would show how small the domain of our knowledge is compared with our belief. Beliefs, explicit and implicit, in regard to small and large matters, and of varying degrees of rationality, underpin all our actions. Action without belief is not conceivable. It is merely behaviour, response in relation to stimulus. To act is to be purposeful and beliefs give us purpose. When events threaten our beliefs we either change them or seek to support them by looking to other evidence that might sustain them. Beliefs can be mistaken, whereas knowledge that is mistaken is not knowledge at all. So although true knowledge is hard to attain, beliefs are common and an essential part of ordinary living.