as someone who lives in that perspective, and has lots many loved ones to such diseases.. I wonder if you have ever really considered the prospect of immortality and the implications.
A lot of our worldly meaning is derived from the fact that the clock is ticking. Death of progenitors increases the quality of life for the offspring in almost every single metric, more so for long-lived species that require little protection past a certain growth milestone, and personally I see it as a specific 'human arrogance'; if someone had the idea of "Let's make all the field mice immortal" the first opinion would be "that's ridiculous, the ecosphere would be thrown entirely out of balance, the entire predatory chain would be upheaved."... but when we talk about human immortality it always falls back to "Well, don't you miss dear old Grandma serf?"
I miss her dearly, but the fact of the matter is that the world wouldn't survive long without a death/life cycle for its' inhabitants, and I think that should include the ones that are the most dangerous to the world at large.
p.s. if you need a laymen excuse : i've read enough scifi dystopia tales that begin with the concept of human immortality and the gradual fall of every single moral barrier or raison d'etre ; I don't think that premise is too far from what may happen if humanity is ever given a choice against death.
i am sorry to hear about the losses you’ve had to endure. i feel it’s an over-large step to go from which factors should guide research to whether humanity should seek immortality. if a child is stricken with glioblastoma before they’ve had a chance to experience life, i would argue that it would be positive and humane for society to have developed the tools to give that young life a chance and their family some hope.
A lot of our worldly meaning is derived from the fact that the clock is ticking. Death of progenitors increases the quality of life for the offspring in almost every single metric, more so for long-lived species that require little protection past a certain growth milestone, and personally I see it as a specific 'human arrogance'; if someone had the idea of "Let's make all the field mice immortal" the first opinion would be "that's ridiculous, the ecosphere would be thrown entirely out of balance, the entire predatory chain would be upheaved."... but when we talk about human immortality it always falls back to "Well, don't you miss dear old Grandma serf?"
I miss her dearly, but the fact of the matter is that the world wouldn't survive long without a death/life cycle for its' inhabitants, and I think that should include the ones that are the most dangerous to the world at large.
p.s. if you need a laymen excuse : i've read enough scifi dystopia tales that begin with the concept of human immortality and the gradual fall of every single moral barrier or raison d'etre ; I don't think that premise is too far from what may happen if humanity is ever given a choice against death.