The Case against Death

A philosopher refutes our culturally embedded acceptance of death, arguing instead for the desirability of anti-aging science and radical life extension. A philosopher refutes our culturally embedded acceptance of death, arguing instead for the desirability of anti-aging science and radical life extension. Ingemar Patrick Linden's central claim is that death is evil. In this first comprehensive refutation of the most common arguments in favor of human mortality, he writes passionately in favor of antiaging science and radical life extension. We may be on the cusp of a new human condition where scientists seek to break through the arbitrarily set age limit of human existence to address aging as an illness that can be cured. The book, however, is not about the science and technology of life extension but whether we should want more life. For Linden, the answer is a loud and clear "yes." The acceptance of death is deeply embedded in our culture. Linden examines the views of major philosophical voices of the past, whom he calls "death's ardent advocates." These include the Buddha, Socrates, Plato, Lucretius, and Montaigne. All have taught what he calls "the Wise View," namely, that we should not fear death. After setting out his case against death, Linden systematically examines each of the accepted arguments for death-that aging and death are natural, that death is harmless, that life is overrated, that living longer would be boring, and that death saves us from overpopulation. He concludes with a "dialogue concerning the badness of human mortality." Though Linden acknowledges that The Case Against Death is a negative polemic, he also defends it as optimistic, in that the badness of death is a function of the goodness of life.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments xi
1 The Case against Death 1
2 The Cast against Aging 23
3 Death Is Harmless 39
4 Life Is Overrated 59
5 Death Is Natural and Therefore Good 77
6 It Would Be Boring to Live Longer 95
7 We Need a Deadline 113
8 Mortality, Character, Virtue, and Moral Excellence 133
9 Death Is the Mother of Beauty 139
10 Death Saves Us from Overpopulation 149
11 Death Saves Us from Social Consequences Worse Than Death 171
12 The State of the Debate and a Concluding Dialogue Concerning the Badness of Human Mortality 199
Notes 209
Bibliography 239
Index 253

About the Author :
Ingemar Patrick Linden taught philosophy at NYU for nearly a decade. He is researching public attitudes to radical life extension.

Review :
“Very clearly written and completely accessible to any college‐level reader, including those with no background in philosophy. The text is free of needless technicality and full of concrete examples. Readers will have no difficulty seeing the relevance of these issues for their own lives.”
—Bioethics