Broader Ramifications of Aging Intervention by Michael

Broader Ramifications of Aging Intervention by Michael - February 2022 Scholarship Essay

Broader Ramifications of Aging Intervention:

Through review of literature, student prose, and Socratic discussions, the course examines the value of scarcity and choices. It seeks to understand how our government, economy, and society have evolved because of our biological limitation in aging; how our fundamental institutions will inevitably change if human lifespan increases by tenfold, hundredfold, or xfold. It attempts to contextualize the daunting concept of infinity — all with the goal of answering the question, “To what extent is longevity desirable?”

Aqua vitae.

Unit 1:

The desire for immortality is historically associated with greed and futility. The course begins with the ancient Mesopotamian poem The Epic of Gilgamesh which dramatizes the main character’s search for an Elixir of Life; but, ultimately he realizes that the avenue to true immortality is enduring achievement. Then, the students dive into arguments by modern philosophers including Viktor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning and Bernard Williams in The Makropulos Case: reflections on the tedium of immortality. They claim that boredom will propagate in the absence of death; life will become devoid of meaning.

Carpe diem.

Unit 2:

Many present-day thinkers assert that there needs to be a paradigm shift – with more time, people will be able to leverage constantly improving brain power, collaboration, and practical knowledge, enabling them to straddle the limits of human achievement; catalyzing an era of growth like none we have ever experienced. Particularly, the comprehensive story entitled The Fable of The Dragon-Tyrant, by Nick Bostrom, analyzes our ironic commitment to senescence. Then his scholarly article named Why I Want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up looks at the notion of posthumanity, the point where we outgrow our engineering constraints. Students are encouraged to read these futuristic works with an open mind to truly understand the proposed ideas.

Some mathematics is intertwined with this unit. For example, the law of accelerating returns, a theorem by Ray Kurzweil, contends that technological advancement speeds up exponentially with time. Therefore, categorical desires will always be fulfilled!

Ad meliora.

Unit 3:

The class presents an interdisciplinary curriculum involving aspects of biomedical engineering, research, ethics, and philosophy in the scope of a global framework. In this unit, students are empowered to choose their own science fiction novel, short story, poem, podcast, television episode, or film for alternate ideas about the nature of immortality. Diversity of knowledge leads to more informed conclusions.

Liberalis.

Unit 4:

David Sinclair’s lab in Harvard University, a longevity subsidiary of Google called Calico Labs, and a recent Silicon Valley startup being funded by Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner called Altos Labs are just a few of well-supported projects in pursuit of anti-aging remedies. Specifically, they target a mitochondrial decay mechanism, which can be reversed by applying engineering techniques, along with other biological markers that limit life sustainability. This scientific unit is all about the current frontiers in biomedical research.

Progressus.

Final:

The culmination of the class is a personal statement on the desirability of immortality — an essay that requires critical reflection and creative inquiry, core values of an honors education. The essay must demonstrate (1) knowledge of the current biomedical progress toward life sustainability, (2) an informed opinion on the ethics and desirability of life extension, (3) a certain level of personal growth since their involvement in the class.

Futurum.