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Ethical Issues in Ageing and Biography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2018

Gary M. Kenyon
Gary M. Kenyon*
Affiliation:
St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, E3B 5G3
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Abstract

The increasing use of biographical materials in research and intervention in the field of ageing gives rise to significant ethical issues. In this inquiry, four of these issues are explicated. First, the notion of informed consent is explored in relation to selected contexts of research and intervention in ageing and biography. Second, the issues of autonomy and competence are considered from the point of view of identifying contexts where biography is a prerequisite for ethically responsive action. The third ethical issue concerns respecting the groundrules of various biographical approaches. Finally, the notions of authenticity and truth in lifestories are explored in an attempt to clarify the limitations and expectations of ageing and biography. The discussion of these ethical issues proceeds on the basis of an argument that indicates the fundamental importance of biographical ageing or the stories we are.

Keywords

Ethicscompetencebiographical encounterbiographical ageingnegotiated consentacceptancestory-listening
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 16 , Issue 6: Special Issue: Ageing, Biography and Practice , November 1996 , pp. 659 - 675
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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