Aging Thoughtfully

Nussbaum and Levmore have written a sweet book on 'humanomics,' deploying economics, law, philosophy, and literature, to craft a multidisciplinary guide to aging. They show that the stories imagined for our lives and our societies give us purchase in a way that science or history cannot quite. Wise in age themselves, Nussbaum and Levmore know full well that tips handed over on a plate like canaps cannot be the point. Old and young need this book."
-Deirdre Nansen McCloskey, UIC Distinguished Professor of Economics and of History Emerita, University of Illinois Chicago


Los Angeles Review of Books
Aging Thoughtfully advances that goal, portraying the aging process as both universal and utterly idiosyncratic, and urging us to learn from each other and our shared history.

Dwight Garner, New York Times
Not just good but very good... Nussbaum and Levmore are as interested in asking the right questions as they are with notching the right answers.

Philadelphia Inquirer
These paired essays really are a conversation - thoughtful, penetrating, and hopeful - between Nussbaum (one of our wisest, smartest writers) and economist and lawyer Levmore.

Christian Century Nussbaum and Levmore provide important points for combating ageism while honoring the many changes that accompany aging. Aging Thoughtfully promises to provoke thoughtful discussion, especially among those at the cusp of older adulthood.

Martha C. Nussbaum is Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. She is the author of Love's Knowledge, Sex and Social Justice, Animal Rights (edited with Cass Sunstein), From Disgust to Humanity, and Philosophical Interventions, among many. Saul Levmore is Graham Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School. He is the co-author of American Guy: Masculinity in American Law and Literature.

Introduction Chapter 1. Learning from King Lear: What can we learn about aging from Shakespeare's Lear? Chapter 2. Must We Retire?: Is mandatory retirement a good idea? Chapter 3. Aging with Friends: How are friendships different as we age? Chapter 4. Aging Bodies: Are cosmetic surgeries good or bad? Chapter 5. Looking Back: What is gained from regret, or from living in the moment? Chapter 6. Romance and Sex beyond Middle-Age: Does age matter? Chapter 7. Inequality and an Aging Population: To what are the elderly entitled? Chapter 8. Giving it Away: How should we part with wealth and time?