The scientific study of gerontology in Hungary has a short history. Perhaps that is why the
meaning of gerontology is erroneously restricted to the type belonging to biology and medical
sciences by many. The present study argues that human and social science gerontology does
have reasons for its existence. We outline the specific areas of research done by philosophy
and ethics in connection with the situation of the existence of people, especially that of the
elderly and describe what their mission consists of. We analyse the history of Western
philosophical thinking and the moral ideas and values formed by this thinking in thousands of
years. The basic principles of modern democratic societies are constituted by these ideas:
liberty, equality, justice, brotherhood, human dignity and human rights. In practice these
rights are often violated, for example the elderly people are discriminated against their age,
which violates their equality and justice as well as human dignity. Their disadvantageous
situation is obvious in the economy, politics, culture, education and relations between
generations. The task of ethics is the principle criticism of these practices along the Western
values thus contribution to the formation of human conditions. The demographic crisis of the
continent is viewed by the EU as based on modern age policy, aids, projects and classical
Western values.