Re: No limit on human lifespans?

From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Date: Fri Sep 29 2000 - 12:34:53 MDT


Robert Coyote wrote:
>
> Fellow Extropians, please enarmor me with a set of counter arguments to this
> assertion below as well as other classic deathist positions ?
>
> "Professor Lee Silver, a geneticist at Princeton University, says any
> attempt to achieve immortality would go against nature.
>
> He said: "Death makes perfect sense in terms of evolution, in terms of
> passing your genes on to the next generation.
>
> "If we did not die then we would be around competing with our children and
> that is not very good for evolution."

Only if evolution is a farce. If our children are better than us, then they will
outcompete us. Enabling us to stick around would actually help us work to
improve each new generation, rather than dying off, with the resulting loss of
our knowledge, skills, and wisdom.



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