Radical life extension

'Radical Life Extension' by Charlie Kam'

Radical life extension is taking the existing basic idea of life extension or longevity and differentiates itself by including new, emerging and hypothetical applications to work towards a theoretically indefinite lifespan.

Etymology

The term appears to be used as far back as 1980 in a medical journal and 1983 in a Ford Foundation publication. The early 90's internet features mentions on the CryoNet mailing lists. 2002 saw mention on the Foresight Institute mailing lists, and in 2003 on the Longevity Meme list.

More recently the term has greatly risen in popularity since the early 2010's along in the boom in biotech and anti-aging research

Healthspan

Vita-More explains how transhumanists and life extortionists should give sufficient focus on health areas within a traditional 123 maximum life span. Combating physical and cognitive decline in later years as the world becomes older, with over 50,000 Americans over the age of 100 in the year 2018.

Serious age related illnesses such as alzheimers and other forms of dementia associated with unhealthy longevity must be seriously addressed.

Psychology

Vita-More advocates 'ageless thinking' a psychological state of prioritising a youthful state physically and mentally. This involves aspiring to a higher quality of life and rejection of harmful stereotypes associated with old age such as rigidity in thinking.

Culture and History

Vita-More points to the broader belief system and practices associated with radical life extension, superlongevity and indefinite life historical and contemporary. As with transhumanism:

It has a set of principles that form the basis of a worldview that provides an ethical approach to the use of technology, evidence-based science to study and mitigate disease, and a positive attitude that values pragmatic optimism. As a practice, it is a way of being in the world undefined by gender roles, age quantifiers, or other indoctrinated behaviors that cultures accept as normal

Historical aspirations towards immortality include the Taoists, Egyptians and more recently Nicolai Fedorov and Jean Finot.

In 1993's In Metaman: The Merging of Humans and Machines into a Global Superorganism, Gregory Stock linked the gaia hypothesis with Teilhard's noosphere as predecessors to technologically interconnected super organism. Vita-More emphasises that we are transhuman beings today and that transhumanist technologies are widespread in the media.

Other early influential writings include:

• Robert Ettinger authored The Prospect of Immortality (1964)
• Timothy Leary who wrote about SMI2LE (space migration increased intelligence, life extension) in Exo-Psychology (1977)
• FM Esfandiary approaching the topic of eliminating death as a radical approach in Optimism One (1978),
• Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw who authored Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach (1983)
• Roy Walford authored Maximum Life Span (1985)

Awareness

Vita-More explains how radical life extension is featured hundreds of times in articles and videos today. She explains how there has been a gradual shift from 90's where the press coverage was mostly negative though to a more mixed state today. Somewhat sceptical of 'popular culture' attitudes on the matter, she recommends Carl Sagan:

[we all] should know to be more skeptical about what’s dished out by popular culture”—from those “widely available and highly accessible sources of information” that claim to be true (Sagan. 1996, p. 5).

Community

Today Vita-More recommends events such as TED, events around SENS, Alcor, Humanity+, Voice & Exit, Foresight, 4GameChangers and many more.

Significant historical events included the first ever conference from the Life Extension Foundation in 1983, a first of many. The Extropy Institute ran many conferences in the 90's through to the mid 2000's where an activist leadership was taking shape including founding of the Proactionary Principle.

Since 2013 Longevity Day and month have been organised by activist Ilia Stambler and Future Day since 2012. There are other events regularly happening all around the world.

Strategy

Vita-More recommends improved information about conferences, reliable information and considered socio-political positions. There are many cross overs with posthuman transhumanism, media and other transhumanist and futuristic positions are recommended with development opportunities.

See also

• Coalition for Radical Life Extension
• Longevity Party

External links

• Life extension on Wikipedia
• /r/longevity on Reddit