Slaying the dragon of the ages - immortality or just life extension
SørenHolm, Professorial Fellow in Bioethics,
May 18, 2017
Dear Editor
I enjoyed the fable very much, and think that I am in agreement with
much of the philosophical gloss.
There is, however, one issue that troubles me. To kill the dragon of aging
we need not only to develop life extension therapies, we need to develop
immortality therapies. Otherwise there will still be trains going up the
mountain, although for a given population size there will be fewer and
fewer trains the longer we can extend life.
The author gives us some evidence that life extension is a realistic hope,
but what about immortality (which at least for robust, bodily immortality
implies indestructability)?
Is the dragon slaying rocket likely, or are current efforts more likely to
lead to an anorexic tablet for dragons.
Dear Editor
I enjoyed the fable very much, and think that I am in agreement with much of the philosophical gloss. There is, however, one issue that troubles me. To kill the dragon of aging we need not only to develop life extension therapies, we need to develop immortality therapies. Otherwise there will still be trains going up the mountain, although for a given population size there will be fewer and fewer trains the longer we can extend life. The author gives us some evidence that life extension is a realistic hope, but what about immortality (which at least for robust, bodily immortality implies indestructability)? Is the dragon slaying rocket likely, or are current efforts more likely to lead to an anorexic tablet for dragons.