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Related Experiment Videos

Making the case for human life extension: personal arguments.

John Schloendorn1

  • 11001 S McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA. Zauberkugel@yahoo.com

Bioethics
|October 19, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Extending human life span is desirable for individuals, as continued life offers benefits. Even with future uncertainties, the rational imperative is to desire continued existence and happiness.

Area of Science:

  • Biogerontology
  • Philosophy of Medicine
  • Bioethics

Background:

  • Advances in life sciences suggest significant human life span extension may be possible.
  • The desirability of life extension for individuals is a key ethical consideration.
  • Philosophical arguments question the value of future experiences and personal identity over time.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To argue that a vast extension of the human life span is a desirable development for individuals.
  • To address objections to life extension based on reductionistic views of personal value and identity.
  • To explore the rational basis for desiring continued existence and happiness.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical argumentation and conceptual analysis.
  • Examination of ethical theories regarding personal identity and future well-being.
Keywords:
Death and EuthanasiaPhilosophical Approach

Related Experiment Videos

  • Critique of reductionistic accounts of value and their implications for life extension.

    • Main Results:

    • Being alive is intrinsically good for living persons, and not being alive is not good for anyone.
    • Rational individuals expecting future happiness have a duty to desire continued life.
    • Reductionistic views that devalue future experiences do not invalidate the desire for life extension.

    Conclusions:

    • The desire to live forever, or simply to live at all, is rationally supported despite potential future changes in personal identity or value.
    • Concerns about the quality or diminishing value of future experiences do not negate the fundamental good of continued existence.
    • Ethical considerations of life extension must account for the intrinsic value of life and the rational desire for future happiness.