고령자의 사회적 고립 극복을 위한 윤리적 성찰-폴 리쾨르의 견해를 중심으로

Abstract

Today, as the aging group has rapidly increased in Korea, various problems regarding the elderly have been raised the society. Among those problems, the issue of no-family-society associated with the elderly living along and isolation phenomena has brought the most interest, as it has recently appeared in mass media frequently. In particular, the seriousness of social isolation of the elderly stands out when it is expanded to life-threatening issue such as loneliness death. However, cause of isolation is various and only a single approach cannot solve the isolation problem of the elderly. Since these issues are layered problems, measures to overcome the problems should be a layered approach. And fundamental solution could not be identified if the elderly (self) would not cooperate in overcoming the isolation in relation with others that are referred to national system, local community and family. Therefore, taking into consideration the awareness of problems, this study aims not to identify overcoming measures as tangible action plans but to investigate how to establish ethical structure of society in regard to “relationship (nature)” issue as a conceptual framework to address the social isolation. For the issue of the ethical structure, Paul Ricoeur’s perspective was suggested in this study as ethical objectives. His perspective is the pursuit toward “living-together” interpreted as a relationship between self and others on the basis of “interest in self-others-system”, that is, “the pursuit of ‘good life’ with others and for others under righteous policies“. Though this ethical perspective, was proposed the possibility of “living-together” to be a relationship between others and self who is interwoven ontologically and existentially with “others” after escaping a “me”-centered subject. In addition, it was discussed that when respects as considerate attitude in interpersonal relationships, namely, respect to self-others-system emerge, it is possible to overcome the social isolation and exclusion of the elderly that were treated as social others and thus that all people can pursue happy lives and create society where all people living together well.