The stages of life | The Health Culture

Click photo for larger view.

I’m currently watching a series of lectures by Malcolm W. Watson on Theories of Human Development. Watson talks mostly about theories of childhood, such as Freud’s outdated theory of the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages. The discussion of Eric Erikson, however, follows stages of development through an entire life. (The lectures are available from The Teaching Company on DVD, CD, and by audio download.)

Did you know that it’s not until babies are seven or eight weeks old that they automatically smile in response to a smiling face? It’s an instinctive response that continues into adulthood (except when we’re feeling miserable). Responding to smiles and an inability to tune out the sound of crying is explained by the attachment theory of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth.

Perhaps it was these lectures that attracted me to the above photo. It’s the work of French photographer Laurent Champoussin. To me it suggests the stages of life. There’s the initial blossoming and tentative shoots of growth at the bottom. There follows the pink and exposed nakedness of adulthood, which progresses to a shallower middle age, with its peaks and valleys. The decay of our declining years is followed by a mysterious and vast extension into the unknown spaces of death.

You can view more photos at Laurent Champoussin’s website. The photo above is much more impressive when it’s 827 pixels wide. Click on the photo for the larger image.

Thanks to the wonderful site Street Anatomy for the link to this artist.