[Longevity and meaning of life. Philosophical-ethical considerations of the theme 'extension of life'].
The desire for the extension of life is not one out of many desire in life, but a form of the fundamental desire for life itself. This so called 'categorical desire' is a necessary condition for the many desires in life. The question why we desire for life (and for its extension), is the question for the meaning of life. The searching for a 'natural lifespan' is meaningless when it wants to find in nature a given norm for the duration of life. It can only have meaning when it tries to formulate the conditions for the experience of life as successful and meaningful. A long tradition in philosophy and religion associates the meaning of life with the acknowledgement of its finitude and mortality and with the acceptance of death. As far as the extension of life is motivated by a fear of death and by an effort to escape from it, it is a neglect of what makes life meaningful, and of what makes it (and its extension) worthwhile to desire.
van Tongeren
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Faculteit Wijsbegeerte KUN, Nijmegen.
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001293:Attitude to Death; D004989:Ethics; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity; D010684:Philosophy; D011788:Quality of Life
Levensduur en levenszin. Wijsgerig-ethische overdenkingen bij het thema 'levensverlenging'.