The Ateneo de Madrid, represented by José Luis Cordeiro, and the program “The Naked Truth” on Capital Radio, directed by Ramiro Aurín, held an interesting meeting at the College of Physicians of Madrid in recent days on the topic of longevity. That is, the prolongation of human life in terms of the evolution of life expectancy at birth (LEV).
In that sense, progress has been formidable, going from an EVN of 30 years in 1900 in Western Europe to 84 in 2023. We must then ask ourselves whether or not there are limits to this increase continuing. In principle, there is no scientific evidence against it. And as Leonard Hayflick, former president of the Gerontological Society of the United States, says, “there is only one cause of death, age, something that cannot be remedied.”
There is a growing number of scientists and thinkers convinced that the main enterprise of modern science is to defeat death and guarantee eternal youth to humans. Among those who think this way is Ray Kurzweil, who in 2012 launched a subsidiary of Google, called Calico, whose stated mission is to “solve death”: nothing more and nothing less.
Kurzweil is, of course, very optimistic: he maintains that whoever in 2050 has a healthy body and a considerable bank account (the longest life for the rich!) will achieve immortality. To do this, every so often “we will enter the clinic to receive treatment to cure diseases, regenerate tissues, and rejuvenate hands, eyes and brain.
But do not get false illusions, because our world today offers situations that do not allow us to glimpse such a happy development. Starting with the planet that welcomes us, sick in so many aspects. And with its inhabitants, aggressive, and its nations, instead of united, warlike.