Transcript Ethical Issues on Aging and Longevity

Ethical Issues on Aging and
Longevity
Soraj Hongladarom
Center for Ethics of Science and Technology,
Chulalongkorn University
Overview
Advances in medical technology.
Human lifespan poised to extend
dramatically.
What are the ethical issues?
Is it always desirable to extend lifespan
further and further?
Advances in Medical
Technology
The mechanism of aging is now more
understood.
This results in attempts to prolong and
extend ‘healthy lifespan.’
Main motivation of modern medicine: avoid
death at all cost.
Possible Future Scenario
Humans living more than one hundred years
will become more common.
In order to maintain population balance,
fewer children will have to be born.
What will happen to the family structure?
Many laws and regulations have to be
rewritten - insurance policies, retirement
age, pension, etc.
Extended Lifespan and
Meaning of Life
This increase in lifespan prompts a question
on the meaning of life itself, as well as that
of death.
The basic thinking behind this attempt is
that death is to be avoided at all cost.
Perhaps one should pause and reflect on
what exactly is desired when one wishes to
extend one’s lifespan.
The Buddhist Viewpoint
 Buddhism prompts one to question the meaning
and value of life. It differs from the JudeoChristian tradition in that it does not consider life
to be sacred in itself.
 On the contrary, Buddhism regards life to be only
valuable when it is meaningful.
 To be meaningful means that life has to contribute
to the main goal, which is liberation from the
cycle of births and rebirths.
Peter Singer
Re-evaluation of traditional Western ethics
Rethinking Life and Death
Affinities and differences with the Buddhist
thought.