“Fountain of Youth” book released

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"The Fountain of Youth: Cultural, Scientific, and Ethical Perspectives on a Biomedical Goal," published by Oxford University Press, has just been released. This is a collection of essays edited by Stephen Post and Robert Binstock, both of whom are investigators on the anti-aging ethics project that I work on. The title pretty much describes the content: the quest for anti-aging medicine is weighed by scholars from a variety of perspectives, from theology to literature to science to feminism to politics. My own contribution is a comprehensive annotated bibliography on anti-aging literature, which includes significant articles and books about anti-aging science and medicine, its history, its portrayal in literature, and the ethical analyses of it. Here is the table of contents:

1. The Search for Prolongevity: A Contentious Pursuit, Robert H. Binstock

2. The Quest for Immortality: Visions and Presentiments in Science and Literature, Mark B. Adams

3. Decelerated Aging: Should I Drink From a Fountain of Youth?, Stephen G. Post

4. A Jewish Theology of Death and the Afterlife, Neil Gillman

5. In Defense of Immortality, Carol G. Zaleski

6. In Search of the Holy Grail of Senescence, S.Jay Olshansky and Bruce A. Carnes

7. The Metabiology of Life Extension, Michael R. Rose

8. Extending Human Longevity: A Biological Probability, Robert Arking

9. Eat Less, Eat Better, and Live Longer: Does It Work and Is It Worth It? The Role of Diet in Aging, Gemma Casadesus, George Perry, James A. Joseph, and Mark A. Smith

10. Extending Life: Scientific Prospects and Political Obstacles, Richard A. Miller

11. An Engineer's Approach To Developing Real Anti-Aging Medicine, Aubrey D.N.J. de Grey

12. An Unnatural Process: Why It Is Not Inherently Wrong To Seek a Cure For Aging, Arthur L. Caplan

13. Longevity, Identity, and Moral Character: A Feminist Approach, Christine Overall

14. LeChaim and Its Limits: Why Not Immortality?, Leon R. Kass

15. Anti-Aging Research and the Limits of Medicine, Eric T. Juengst

16. The Social and Justice Implications of Extending the Human Life Span, Audrey R. Chapman

17. The Prolonged Old, the Long-Lived Society, and the Politics of Age, Robert H. Binstock

Epilogue: Extended Life, Eternal Life: A Christian Perspective, Diogenes Allen

Annotated Bibliography, Roselle S. Ponsaran

Primary Literary Sources on Prolongevity, Carol A. Donley