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The ethics of life extension
If we could live longer, should we?
Longevity biotechnology is an emerging field that challenges the idea that death at 120 years old or so is guaranteed. How should we think about prolonging life? I decided to look into the ethics of life extension. This is not supposed to be a comprehensive or thorough essay, but I hope some people find it useful, and others find the time and passion to contribute.
The situation
Imagine that you are in a cafe. You are enjoying your tea. You are considering getting another cup, this time perhaps a chai latte, which you like more than tea. You also know that as soon as you finish your drinks, the waiter who loves surprises will bring you one last random drink. The waiter takes surprises seriously. You won’t know what’s in the extra cup before it is time to go. It could be a chai latte, a drink you might like even more, a drink you get poisoning from, or they could even bring you an empty cup.
Tea is your life, the present moment. It might be sweet or a little bitter. Life extension is getting another cup. It could mean buying a chai latte, a life that is better than your current life, or just another good old tea. At the end of life, there is death, a random drink. For all you know, it could be anything. It could be better than your current life, another life, worse life, or an absence of life.
Speaking from a scientific perspective, the most likely outcome of this cafe visit is that you either get more drinks and sit in the cafe before it closes (the death of the universe), or you stop drinking and leave, dropping into the void of nothingness. From a more spiritual perspective, you could get, figuratively, heaven/nirvana, hell, or reincarnation.
A waiter by the name of Longevity Biotech is asking if you want another drink. What would you say?
Benefits of postponing death
Why could you possibly want life extension? Here are the main reasons I could think of.
- Living a longer life could allow you to live a richer life. Imagine a 1000-year life. You could enjoy more time with your family (assuming they could and wanted to take the longevity pill too), satisfy your curiosity and glimpse a bit…
