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Never Too Late to Live a Little Longer? The Quest for Extended Life and Immortality – Some Ethical Considerations

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Author

Summary, in English

This book chapter discusses and evaluates four different efforts to extend human life: Normalize ageing, Optimize ageing, Retard ageing and postpone death, and Eliminate or overcome ageing and death.



I suggest that improved treatment of disease and handicap at all ages should be welcomed. As a secondary effect, this may in many cases result in an extension of individual lives. However, the direct aim at life extension through modification of certain basic human properties, such as genetic enhancement, should be looked at with suspicion. It may involve exaggerated risks, but the main argument is that it may diminish the existential character of what it is to be human, involving relation to others as a central aspect. To intentionally produce humans so that they become immortal is a violation against these individuals, because they lack an important existential dimension of human life.

Publishing year

2006

Language

English

Publication/Series

Future Perfect? God, Medicine and Human Identity, edited by Celia Deane-Drummond and Peter Manley Scott

Document type

Book chapter

Publisher

T&T Clark

Topic

  • Ethics

Keywords

  • genetic enhancement
  • life extension
  • overcome death
  • eliminate death
  • overcome ageing
  • and eliminate ageing
  • postpone death
  • retard ageing
  • normalize ageing
  • optimize ageing

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISBN: 0-567-03079-2