The point of life extension

Many object to living longer because of all the inequalities that are prevalent in the world; noting that society would have to be burdened more from an ever ageing society. But, the point of life extension is not just to get older, but live younger longer..

If we note that only a hundred and fifty years ago in Western Europe, the lifespan of an average labourer was merely up to their mid-twenties or thirties, we would have objected to this study on that basis. However, times move on. New discoveries are allowing us to enjoy our lives more, with increased youth and better living standards.

I grant you this, that large swathes of the world are suffering from impoverishment, but does that mean that we have to stop our progress completely until everyone catches up. I don't think that would be rational.

New discoveries are increasingly allowing us to perceive the benefits of life and the necessity of enjoying what time we have left. But, yes, we also have to concentrate on equalising massive socio-economic and political disparities in the world.

The fountain of youth has been a dream that has been sought after for thousands of years. Yet, when we are so close to it, and not from fantasy and supernatural sources, but from our increased scientific understanding, why would so many object to living longer. It may well produce the impetus to actually motivate us more to change our current realities in the world.

We may already be at a point at which the population is a burden to the earth's resources the way that we are currently exploiting them.. Obviously, an ever expanding global population is not a good idea. However, when we look at population growth, it is largely concentrated in the less developed world.

Greater emphasis on birth control has done wonders to the stabilisation of population growth in Europe and other more developed countries. This may also be the case for those countries afflicted by poverty. However, as I mentioned, there is a necessity for a change in the global system towards more sustainable growth. Over time, as we develop further, and regain access and control of our resources from large exploitative corporations through a more just system of global governance, such issues as population growth may be easily contained. However, above all, greater access to education is the prime motivator for a sustainable world.

With greater access to the media and communication, the world is just waking up to global realities. It may seem like we're regressing, and in some respects that may be true. But, imagine what it would have been like a hundred years ago, or even a thousand years ago. I'm sure that you'll admit that our trajectory is far better now than it was then. Nevertheless, who said that there would be no hurdles. It is an imperfect world filled with lots of animals that think that they are perfect.. It will be a hard struggle, but with greater awareness and understanding, I think we might just beat the odds.

Personally, although you may disagree, I believe that aiming to live longer is only part of the equation. That is, living to a point that in time at which we have developed technology far enough to be permanently augmented by artificial organs, to allow us to live even longer. It will happen, and it it is only a matter of time. There may also come a time where we will be able to transfer our consciousness into a different host. That will induce may ethical issues, primarily from the point of view of religion, and what were actually are as humans. This may well become the nexy stage in our evolution. Only time will tell. However, there is an ever increasing number of especially intelligent people out there who are working on these very assumptions.