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dchin's picture

Week 11

Death is unpleasant, but practical. If organisms did not die, they would overwhelm the Earth, subsequently making life more difficult for everyone. This is, of course, much easier to say when we are discussing death in the abstract. When it comes to the death or impending death of someone that we care about, we are probably more likely to advocate finding ways to preserve life. The fight to prolong life is unavoidable; the drive to stay alive is hardwired into our brains. It would be trying to fight our very natures if we decided to stop exploring and practicing ways to put off death. However, I believe that while we should do all that we can to stay alive within a certain time span, it would be unfairly taxing on future generations if we were to attempt to go beyond that boundary. For example, given the current medical advances, many people live well into their 80s and 90s. The norms that I have grown up with tell me that this is a normal lifespan. If a person were to live beyond this age, then yes, we should make their years as pleasant as possible, but I don't think that research should be done on ways to prolong life indefinitely or past a natural lifespan.

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