The other face of eternity: the vision of the elderly on hell.

Abstract

The paper analyzes the vision of hell that the elderly have. I start from the idea that the vision of hell is more defined over more advanced ages, in correspondence with the lifestyles shaping this vision. As far as older people are reducing their consumption needs, restricting their social and economic interactions and reducing their daily activities due to illness, disability, or retirement it does not mean they have a poor vision of hell, but a more concrete and specific vision of this place. The reason why I want to stress the vision of hell is because in this space are intertwined both lives and experiences through which human beings guide their behavior, legitimize or criticize their actions, assess and qualify events, and generate explanations, not only for the here and now but also for their past and future. In short, because through the vision of hell it is possible to see the earthly life and the way they provide everyday life with meaning. By entering into the complexity of this vision, we are also entering the real world