Aging research: Priorities and aggregation
Public Health Ethics 1 (3):258-267 (2008)
| Abstract | Department of Political Studies, Queen's University, 99 University Avenue, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6. Email: farrelly{at}queensu.ca ' + u + '@' + d + ' '//--> Abstract Should we invest more public funding in basic aging research that could lead to medical interventions that permit us to safely and effectively retard human aging? In this paper I make the case for answering in the affirmative. I examine, and critique, what I call the Fairness Objection to making aging research a greater priority than it currently is. The Fairness Objection presumes that support for aging research is limited to a simplistic utilitarian justification. That is, a mode of justification that is aggregative and permits imposing high costs on a few so that small benefits could be enjoyed by numerous recipients. I develop two arguments to refute the Fairness Objection. The Fairness Objection mischaracterizes the utilitarian argument for retarding human aging. It does so by invoking the fallacious conceptual distinction between "saving lives" and "extending lives", as well as making a number of mistaken assumptions concerning the likely benefits of retarding human aging. Secondly, I argue that the case for tackling aging can be made on contractualist , in addition to utilitarian, grounds. Because the harms of senescence are "morally relevant" to the harms of disease, contractualists can permit aggregation within lives. And thus no one could reasonably reject, I contend, a principle that makes the aspiration to tackle human aging more of a priority than it currently is. CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this? | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,631 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesNorman Daniels (1998). Review: Does Economics Provide a Unified Account of Aging Behavior and Aging Policy? [REVIEW] Ethics 108 (3):569 - 585.
Pascale Piolino, Béatrice Desgranges, David Clarys, Bérengère Guillery-Girard, Laurence Taconnat, Michel Isingrini & Francis Eustache (2006). Autobiographical Memory, Autonoetic Consciousness, and Self-Perspective in Aging. Psychology and Aging 21 (3):510-525.
Stephen G. Post (1990). Women and Elderly Parents: Moral Controversy in an Aging Society. Hypatia 5 (1):83 - 89.
Dayle A. Friedman (2008). Jewish Visions for Aging: A Professional Guide for Fostering Wholeness. Jewish Lights Pub..
Walter Jacob & Moshe Zemer (eds.) (1998). Aging and the Aged in Jewish Law: Essays and Responsa. Rodef Shalom Press.
Zachary Davis (2009). Aging and Social Justice. Journal of Philosophy: A Cross-Disciplinary Inquiry 4 (10):46-54.
Walter Glannon (2002). Extending the Human Life Span. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 27 (3):339 – 354.
Norman Daniels (1998). Does Economics Provide a Unified Account of Aging Behavior and Aging Policy?:Aging and Old Age. Richard Posner. Ethics 108 (3):569-.
Timothy F. Murphy (1986). A Cure for Aging? Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 11 (3):237-255.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-12-21Total downloads6 ( #145,407 of 548,969 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,511 of 548,969 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
