| 摘要: | 本研究除了對台灣當代老年生命意義的呈現進行靜態的瞭解外，更希望能夠從社會建構過程透視生命意義背後動態的社會影響力，重新檢視現代化社會中被視為理所當然、卻極端異化的當代老年境遇。 本研究採質性研究法進行當代老年生命意義的探尋，並以微觀社會老年學的角度分析台灣當代老年生命意義的呈現；除此之外，本研究最主要的目的是發揮批判老年學精神，以鉅觀的社會老年學角度在每一位個案的生命回顧中，歸納人口變遷、工業化與都市化、社會階層化、社會政策與老年福利等四項台灣社會變遷面向對其生命的影響，亦即從社會建構過程探討當代老年生命意義的建立。 在台灣當代老年生命意義的呈現上，本研究發現包含三大屬性及六項奠基面向。在社會建構過程對台灣當代老年生命意義的影響方面，本研究發現：人口變遷與當代老年生命意義的關係中，老年人口逐年提高的整體人口趨勢對老年經濟與居住安排的影響，均對其生命意義的奠基有連鎖效應的影響；工業化、都市化變遷與當代老年生命意義的關係中，由於受限於過去政治局勢與經濟策略等雙重因素的阻礙，造成主觀生命意義呈現性別上的差異；社會階層化變遷與當代老年生命意義的關係中，不論是社會階層化對教育機會取得的影響，或是教育對社會階層化的影響，均使台灣當代老人的主觀生命意義有不同的呈現；社會政策和老年福利與當代老年生命意義的關係中，台灣當代老人長期處於政治意識型態主導一切的虛假意識中，很難在有限的老人福利規劃與制訂中，自我肯定其當前老年之生命意義。 本研究從台灣社會變遷的歷史脈絡探討當代老年生命意義，不但能夠開拓社會大眾看待老年生命的視野，更可增進新生世代與傳統世代之間的知性交流。
The main purpose of the study, in addition to understanding the static meaning of the life of the contemporary Taiwanese elders, is to disclose the movement of the social influences behind one’s meaning of the life in terms of the process of the social construction, and to re-examine the elders’ alienation which is taken for granted in the modern society. The study uses the qualitative method to find the meaning of the life of the contemporary elders from their life review, and analyzes it by micro-social gerontology theories. The study adheres the spirit of critical gerontology to induce the effects of social changes on elderly life, and analyzes them by macro-social gerontology theories. Social changes include the following four: demographic transition, industrialization and urbanization, social stratification, social policy and the welfare for the elderly. That is, this study relates the meaning of the life of the contemporary elders to the process of social construction in Taiwan. On the meaning of the life of the contemporary Taiwanese elders, the findings of the study conclude the three attributions of the meaning of the life, and the six grounds of the meaning of the life. On the effects of the processes of social construction on the meaning of the life of the contemporary Taiwanese elders, the findings show that for the relations between demographic transition and the meaning of the life of the contemporary elders, the trend of increasing older population effects the economy and the residence arrangement of the elders, both produce the chain effects to the grounds of the meaning of the life; for the relations between industrialization, urbanization and the meaning of the life of the contemporary elders, the double obstruction of political situation and economic strategy in the past crates the sexual difference of the subjective meaning of life; for the relations between social stratification and the meaning of the life of the contemporary elders, the interaction between social stratification and education produces the different subjective meaning of the life among the elders; for the relations between social policy, the welfare for the elderly and the meaning of the life of the contemporary elders, because of relying on social policy and the welfare for the elderly, it is difficult for them to affirm the meaning of life at the present time by themselves due to the false consciousness which comes from the dominant political ideology of the Kuomintang state. To explore the meaning of the life of the contemporary Taiwanese elders within the Taiwan historical context of social changes, not only open the horizon of popular conceptions about elders, but also increases the intellectual interaction between the young and old generations. |
