Intergenerativity, brain health and life-span learning

Our movement to contribute to human flourishing across the life span and species survival needs to innovate through intergenerative blending of creative sources of social and environmental change like positive aging, intergenerational relationships, environmental “blessed unrest” (Paul Hawken) , Occupy, activist public health efforts, social transmedia, and the arts and humanities. However the members of the movement must also not shy away from challenging dominant models of human health and unbridled enthusiasm for and faith in science, i.e. scientism. The brain is a critical organ of learning and hence key to our species' attempts to address the challenges of social injustice, global climate change, and the diffusion of environmental toxins. Scientists often use reductionist models to understand human disease. An illustration is so-called Alzheimer's disease (AD) said to be the most common cause of dementia. However AD is very heterogeneous and not best viewed as one disease. It is also intimately related to various aging processes and may not be different than severe brain aging. Pharmaceutical models of treatment are overemphasized. More ecopsychosocial models of brain health and treatment are needed based on educational models such as The Intergenerational School -a high performing, life-span oriented educational community of excellence which involves people with various aging associated cognitive challenges like dementia. Increasingly this school which was founded by my wife and myself is focusing on sustainability and health.