What Do Elders Know And Why Is It Still Important? | Dennis Stamper

We live in a time in which our knowledge is growing at an unprecedented rate. It is changing not only how we live but also how long we live. It is not unusual for people to now have a full third of their life ahead of them after they retire. Yet, we also live in a society that is very focused on youth, a time in which aging is most often seen in terms of loss, decline and irrelevance. We fear and resist our own inevitable aging. It has not always been this way. In many cultures elders have been valued for the wisdom that they possess and elderhood has been seen as something to strive for. In our own culture we often see no value in elder wisdom and our elders seem reluctant to claim that they have any wisdom at all. In this talk, we hear some ideas about what it is that elders know and why that kind of wisdom is still important today.

Dennis Stamper earned his Master of Social Work degree from UNC Chapel Hill and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He attended St. Paul School of Theology and is a Commissioned Lay Pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He has worked in the fields of child welfare and chronic pain management and currently works as a hospital chaplain. Dennis is a musician/songwriter. He regularly organizes medical teams to work in Chiapas Mexico.