Resumo

OSORIO PEREZ, Oscar. Vulnerabilidad y vejez: implicaciones y orientaciones epistémicas del concepto de vulnerabilidad. Intersticios sociales [online]. 2017, n.13. ISSN 2007-4964.

Vulnerability refers to the risk of being exposed to the possibility of being harmed or affected either physically or emotionally. This article aims to show that the advantages of the concept of vulnerability notwithstanding, this term is inappropriate when it comes to the analysis of populations as a whole. The results of this conceptual and epistemic analysis show that this limitation comes from the usage of arbitrary and inconsistent taxonomic elements; in the case of the elderly, in particular, characterize them as vulnerable blurs the complexity of their living conditions.

Palavras-chave : elderly people; vulnerability; poverty; threat; risk.