Beyond Ageism. The Redefinition of Social Categories to Account for Complexity

Abstract

Given the need to assign categories while also fostering free thought when conducting research, the aim of this paper is to highlight how the third and fourth age categories are addressed risks inducing ageism in the current aging society. Considering the role that language plays in the construction of the world (Berger & Luckmann, 1966), this literature review aims to identify the ways that the third and fourth age categories have been applied in social science research. Therefore, the potential to avoid the dichotomization of old age necessarily lies in placing things in context so that we comprehend the complexity of old age, e.g., the third or fourth age.