Aging Thoughtfully: Conversations about Retirement, Romance, Wrinkles, and Regrets

We all age differently, but we can learn from shared experiences and insights. The conversations, or paired essays, in Aging Thoughtfully combine a philosopher's approach with a lawyer-economist's.

Here are ideas about when to retire, how to refashion social security to help the elderly poor, how to learn from King Lear — who did not retire successfully — and whether to enjoy or criticize anti-aging cosmetic procedures. Some of the concerns are practical: philanthropic decisions, relations w...