This month I'm happy to announce we have a very special meetup! The kind people from Heales (The Healthy Life Extension Society) are giving a presentation and explaining what they are all about. If you have any interest in life extension or just want an intelligent discussion consider dropping by. For this meetup the room upstairs is booked for us so ask at the bar or just come upstairs and say hi. If you are coming for the first time, please consider filling out this one minute form, to share your contact information.
About this meetup in particular: The first part of the discussion will give a short description of why we age and the main fields of possible progression:
Drugs
Stem cells and creation of organs
Gene therapy
Nanotechnologies
Longer term prospective
The second part of the discussion will be about the consequences of life extension for the citizens and for the society as a whole:
The following aspects concerning life extension will be approached:
- Economic consequences: lower health costs and questions related to pensions
- Environmental consequences: the question of overpopulation and the pattern of consumption of people advancing in age
Psychological fears related to a longer life: boredom, hubris (playing God).
Harmonious society: ethical questions, lower level of crime and a higher level of resilience
The last part of the discussion will be about a political and ethical question: Should the State subsidize life extension?
Didier Coeurnelle is co-chair of Heales (Healthy Life Extension Society), which publishes a monthly newsletter of information: “La mort de la mort” (The Death of the Death) and organizes international conferences. He is vice-president of the French association Technoprog, which aims to “spread the themes and questions related to technologies that could extend and enhance the lives of individuals and of humankind”. He is also an active member of the environmental movement.
In January 2013, he published a book (in French): Et si on arrêtait de vieillir ! : Réalité, enjeux et perspectives d'une vie en bonne santé beaucoup plus longue (Amazon page - Dedicated website).