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The Promise of Human Life Span Extension

The Promise of Human Life Span Extension CHAPTER 3 The Promise of Human Life Span Extension Preston W. Estep III The eminent evolutionary biologist George C. Williams once famously en- titled a publication “Mother Nature is a wicked old witch!” in which he de- scribed the effi cient brutality of natural selection as morally reprehensible (Williams, 1995). Williams rightly thought that one of the most brutal and unforgiving selective acts is death itself, although he thought it unavoidable (Nesse & Williams, 1996). Throughout history, humans have had no real con- trol over senescence and death, and, to deal with this ever-present burden, they have turned to various diversions and increasingly elaborate mythmaking (Holliday, 2001). We still do not have a clear overall physiological model of the senescent mechanisms that lead ultimately to death, but evolutionary biol- ogy and gerontology have made impressive progress in understanding many aspects of this process. In theory, there is no known physical law or other scientifi c barrier to prevent complete control over senescence and death. Despite the absence of proof that death is an immutable part of human life, there is an equal absence of proof that it can be controlled to this degree. From our current perspective, the known http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annual Review of Gerontology & Geriatrics Springer Publishing

The Promise of Human Life Span Extension

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References (158)

Publisher
Springer Publishing
ISSN
0198-8794
eISSN
1944-4036
DOI
10.1891/0198-8794.27.1.29
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

CHAPTER 3 The Promise of Human Life Span Extension Preston W. Estep III The eminent evolutionary biologist George C. Williams once famously en- titled a publication “Mother Nature is a wicked old witch!” in which he de- scribed the effi cient brutality of natural selection as morally reprehensible (Williams, 1995). Williams rightly thought that one of the most brutal and unforgiving selective acts is death itself, although he thought it unavoidable (Nesse & Williams, 1996). Throughout history, humans have had no real con- trol over senescence and death, and, to deal with this ever-present burden, they have turned to various diversions and increasingly elaborate mythmaking (Holliday, 2001). We still do not have a clear overall physiological model of the senescent mechanisms that lead ultimately to death, but evolutionary biol- ogy and gerontology have made impressive progress in understanding many aspects of this process. In theory, there is no known physical law or other scientifi c barrier to prevent complete control over senescence and death. Despite the absence of proof that death is an immutable part of human life, there is an equal absence of proof that it can be controlled to this degree. From our current perspective, the known

Journal

Annual Review of Gerontology & GeriatricsSpringer Publishing

Published: Jan 1, 2007

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