Superlongevity and utilitarianism
Australasian Journal of Philosophy 85 (4):581 – 595 (2007)
| Abstract | Peter Singer has argued that there are good utilitarian reasons for rejecting the prospect of superlongevity: developing technology to double (or more) the average human lifespan. I argue against Singer's view on two fronts. First, empirical research on happiness indicates that the later years of life are (on average) the happiest, and there is no reason to suppose that this trend would not continue if superlongevity were realized. Second, it is argued that there are good reasons to suppose that there will be a certain amount of self-selection: the happiest are more likely to adopt superlongevity technology. This means that the adoption of superlongevity technology will have the effect of raising the level of aggregate utility. | |||||||||
| 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: 5,709 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesMathias Risse (2002). Harsanyi's 'Utilitarian Theorem' and Utilitarianism. Noûs 36 (4):550–577.
Alison Hills (2010). Utilitarianism, Contractualism and Demandingness. Philosophical Quarterly 60 (239):225-242.
Stephen Buckle (2005). Peter Singer's Argument for Utilitarianism. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 26 (3):175-194.
James L. Hudson (1987). The Diminishing Marginal Value of Happy People. Philosophical Studies 51 (1):123 - 137.
Peter Vallentyne (2009). Infinite Utility and Temporal Neutrality. Utilitas 6 (02):193-.
Peter Vallentyne (1993). Utilitarianism and Infinite Utility. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 71 (2):212 – 217.
Thomas L. Carson (1983). Utilitarianism and the Wrongness of Killing. Erkenntnis 20 (1):49 - 60.
Josh Parsons (2002). Axiological Actualism. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 80 (2):137 – 147.
Benjamin A. Rider (2010). The Ethics of Superlongevity. Philosophy in the Contemporary World 17 (1):56-65.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads10 ( #106,438 of 549,571 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,397 of 549,571 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
