Book Review: Middle Ages – A Natural History – David Bainbridge
In ancient India, human life was caricatured as a fourfold cycle, beginning with Shaishavam (infant: 0-5 years), Balyam (child: 5-15 years), Yauvanam (youth: 15-60 years) and Vardhkayam (old age). . However, in none of the literature of that period, there is no mention of an intermediate period called mid-life, a period of massive change that we all experience when we cross the forty-year mark. It is only from Western literature that we come across this term called middle age or a crisis associated with it.
Middle age between men and women is questioned as a stage in which there is a marked change in their Physiological and Psychological configuration. It evolves from a time when you feel you have reached a peak on your life path. It is also a time when people introspect what they have accomplished thus far and develop a future course of action.
If you want to think more about this topic, David Bainbridge’s book MIDDLE AGES – A Natural History is worth reading. As a veterinary anatomist at Cambridge University, he has provided an insightful picture of middle age, in the context of modern evolutionary biology and neuropsychiatry.
Bainbridge begins his essay with his passive theory of aging called antagonistic pleiotrophy, where genes that promote reproduction among the young will perpetuate degeneration at a later age. This means that genes that activate sex hormones during the reproductive stage play a role in bodily degeneration in the post-reproductive age. The second passive theory of his is the “disposable soma theory” where our bodies (soma) become disposable after the reproductive stage, which means that natural selection promotes rejuvenation of the body only as long as it is capable of reproducing. Such anthropological studies on aging and its genetic nature make us argue that middle age is not a modern construct but has existed among humans for millions of years.
Bainbridge also says that this is a time when there is a change in the psychological continuity of our lives, giving us a sense of speeding up time and a fragility in our mental outlook on life. Bainbridge argues that the changes in our world view during the Middle Ages are attributed to change in sexuality or the biologically induced play of fundamental reproductive forces in the human body and its adaptation to the new environment.
Among women, midlife proceeds to a virtual shutdown in their reproductive abilities and among men there is a general decline in sexual indices such as sperm count and sexual productivity. Middle age in women is a precursor to the upcoming menopause, while in men it results in a condition called andropause that results in a significant reduction in testosterone production in their bodies.
However, this book is not just a lazy middle-aged story, it also looks at the positive transformation that took place in a person’s life during the Middle Ages. He says that this period is not the end but the beginning of a new paradigm in the sexual chemistry of individuals beyond the realm of reproduction. Sex becomes much more about self-expression and discovery than a method of reproduction that he says is seen only among human beings. This may explain why men chase bikes and young women and make a frenzied effort for bodybuilding and other youth-reclaiming measures.
Consequently, for Bainbridge, natural selection gives men the opportunity to start a new family, while among women it leads to a syndrome called the “mother hypothesis.” This syndrome affects near-menopausal women in their early forties, where their sexual energies are spent more on raising the young, growing them into mature adults only to lead to an empty nest syndrome when the children leave home.
Where does this change in the genetic clock of life lead? The answer is a mix of negatives and positives. During this middle age, the negative effects of divorces, extramarital affairs, and other marital discord coexist along with a new level of camaraderie between couples who rediscover a new meaning for their lives. The trauma of empty nest syndrome among women also leads them to re-enter the workforce, while men begin to withdraw from the daily work routine.
The question is, if this is a universal human syndrome, why has this concept not been echoed in any of the Eastern, spiritual and psychological discourses? Indian literature mentions “periods of wisdom” in a person’s life in which the fighting Kshatriya warrior becomes a trainer of the youth and refrains from fighting. Beyond this, this situation is not mentioned, it may be due to the formidable impact of patriarchy and Brahmanical traditions in our society.
It is also argued by a section of left-leaning sociologists that the so-called crisis of the Middle Ages is a myth and was just a “crisis” created by the Western media in the early 1950s. After the great depression at the turn of the 20th century, in the 1950s and 1960s, a wealthy, middle-aged population emerged in developed nations. Waning colonialism and the spread of the industrial revolution resulted in the growth of a class of able-bodied middle-aged men and women whose financial independence made them experimental in breaking conventional notions of contracted sex. This perhaps created an uptick in midlife promiscuity that the Western media caricatured as a midlife crisis.
Regardless of those arguments about whether it’s myth or reality, midlife is an opportunity to introspect the path we’ve taken and build a new paradigm for our growth. For men, it can mean quitting their day job and experimenting with their passion or pursuing a new profession, business, or taking a gap year. For women it is an opportunity to restart their careers after a period of upbringing and feel more independent and motivated. It is a period of experimentation on our life goals, even redefining our notion of love, relationships, career and committing ourselves to the search for new pastures.
After all, as Frank Natale wrote in his book Midlife Wisdom: Reclaim Your Passion, Power, and Purpose, “Midlife is not the beginning of decline, but a time to reach our highest selves. It is a pause to re-examine what we have done and what we will do in the future. This is the time to give birth to our power.”
As this year dawns, I wish all my middle-aged friends between the ages of 40 and 55 a new year in which they discover their power, passion, and purpose.