* Address correspondence to Marc E. Agronin, Mental Health and Clinical Research, Miami Jewish Health Systems, 5200 NE 2nd Ave., Miami, FL 33137. E-mail:
Gerontologist. 2014 Feb;54(1):30-9. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnt032. Epub 2013 May 10.
Cicero's famous essay "On Old Age," written in ancient Rome, was one of the first detailed depictions of the challenges and opportunities posed by the aging process. Several modern developmental theories of the life cycle have echoed many of the themes of Cicero, including the existence of unfolding life stages with specific tasks and transitions. Freud's psychoanalytic theory of infantile sexuality provided a limited starting point, as well as a theoretical base for Erik Erikson's proposed eight stages of the life cycle. Unlike Freud, however, Erikson and others including Daniel Levinson, George Vaillant, and Carol Gilligan elaborated on forces in adult development that were distinct from early life experiences. Gene Cohen's theory of human potential phases took middle age as a starting point and proposed an extensive structure for late-life development based on emergent strengths including wisdom and creativity.
西塞罗的著名散文《论老年》写于古罗马时期，它首次详细描述了衰老过程带来的挑战和机遇。生命周期的几个现代发展理论都呼应了西塞罗的许多主题，包括存在具有特定任务和过渡的展开生命阶段。弗洛伊德的婴儿期性欲精神分析理论提供了一个有限的起点，以及埃里克·埃里克森提出的生命周期八个阶段的理论基础。然而，与弗洛伊德不同的是，埃里克森和其他人，包括丹尼尔·列文森、乔治·惠特利和卡罗尔·吉利根，详细阐述了成年发展中的力量，这些力量与早期生活经历不同。吉恩·科恩的人类潜能阶段理论以中年为起点，并根据包括智慧和创造力在内的新兴优势，为晚年发展提出了一个广泛的结构。
