More Thoughts on Engineered Longevity
Over at Philosophy Now, an example of moderate, sensible support for the engineering of greater human longevity, and rejection of a variety of foolish arguments against that goal: "despite large increases in life span, the length of the period of illness before death is remaining steady, and the proportion of life spent ill is declining. ... Even this welcome prospect does not satisfy some miserabilists: 'We cannot afford all these old people' is the cry. Hidden in that statement is the assumption that old people, even in good health (as most are), are not going to contribute to the wealth of the nation. There is, of course, no reason why they too should not be producers - so long as they are not prevented from doing so by negative expectations and ageist attitudes, and policies ensuring that those negative expectations are fulfilled. ... We may anticipate therefore that for many, perhaps most people in developed countries, average healthy, productive life expectancy will increase indefinitely."