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2009 Abstracts Stage 2

Buying the Time: a Philosophical Study into the Ethics of Increased Longevity

Jonathan Davis, 2009, Stage 2

Territory: I chose to consider the use of nanotechnology and drugs when applied to living organisms, more specifically humans, to increase the average life time and explore the ethical implications that may be associated with it. Aim: I intend to explore the socio‐economic effects of a society in which all individuals or a select group have an extended life span, from anything between an additional 50 years of life up to, theoretically, several hundred or even thousands! At the end of my study I intend to consider if such technology can be applied, if it should be applied and in what capacity. Concepts: I shall be considering the philosophical dilemmas presented by specialist scholars in the field of my study as well as deliberating issues I have considered myself. To help me consider these issues I shall apply the philosophies of Mill’s Utilitarianism and Nietzschean thought to see if either, both or neither can agree on specific aspects of the study.

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