Concept
Life extension
Overview
Life extension is the concept of extending the human lifespan, either through incremental improvements in medicine or through radical increases in maximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled biological limit of around 125 years. This field of study has been explored by numerous researchers and advocates, including "life extensionists", "immortalists", and "longevists" (those who aspire to achieve prolonged lifespans themselves). These researchers and advocates hypothesize that future advancements in tissue rejuvenation, stem cells, regenerative medicine, molecular repair, gene therapy, pharmaceuticals, and organ replacement (such as through artificial organs or xenotransplantations) will eventually enable humans to have indefinite lifespans through complete rejuvenation to a state of optimal health and youth (agerasia). The ethical implications of life extension are a subject of discourse among bioethicists.
The sale of purported anti-aging products, such as supplements and hormone replacement therapy, is a lucrative global industry. For example, the industry that promotes the use of hormones as a treatment for consumers to slow or reverse the aging process in the US market generated about $50 billion of revenue a year in 2009. The use of such hormone products has not been proven to be effective or safe. Similarly, a variety of apps make claims to assist in extending the life of their users, or predicting their lifespans.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.
In chemical experiments on metals, however, there are some others worthy of notice, but the greatest abundance (where the whole are so few in numbers) is discovered in certain medicines, which, from their occult and specific qualities (as they are termed), affect particular limbs, humors, diseases, or constitutions. Nor should we omit the harmony between the motion and phenomena of the moon, and their effects on…
Francis Bacon, Novum organum
States what Life extension is; the author is tied to Life extension in the knowledge graph.
After this examination we will find that nothing remains in the idea of body, except that it is something extended in length, breadth, and depth; and this something is comprised in our idea of space, not only of that which is full of body, but even of what is called void space.
René Descartes, Selections from the Principles of Philosophy
States what Life extension is; the author is tied to Life extension in the knowledge graph.
Wherefore we know of Plato (of whom one may well say that he was a son of Nature, both because of his perfection and because of his countenance, which caused Socrates to love him when first he saw him), that he lived eighty and one years, according to the testimony of Tullius in that book On Old Age. And I believe that if Christ had not been crucified, and if He might have lived the length of time which His life…
Dante Alighieri, The Banquet
States what Life extension is.
Philosophers who discussed Life extension
Related ideas
- Evidence-based medicine
- Francis Bacon
- Genetic engineering
- Futurist
- Philosophy
- Future
- Immortality
- Harvard University
- The Observer
- The Guardian
- Xi Jinping
- St. Martin's Press
- Nanotechnology
- Nucleic acid
- Well-being
- René Descartes
- Richard Dawkins
- Skepticism
- Transhumanism
- Taoism
- The New York Times
- Age of Enlightenment
- Doubleday (publisher)
- Sage Publishing
Place in the tradition
Part of Bioethics.