PSY216 PSYCHOLOGY OF AGEING 1 201930
PSY216 MODULE 9 TREATING ADVANCING AGE
- TREATING ADVANCING AGE
TREATING ADVANCING AGE
For this topic, there are three resources for you to read, available from the
Resources folder. - Kirkwood and Austad (2000) discuss the causes of ageing as well as some of
the promising therapies for ageing.
Kirkwood, T.B.L., & Austad, S.N. (2000). Why do we age? Nature, 408, 233-
238. - Aubrey de Grey is bio-gerontologist who specialises in anti-ageing
technologies. He is a very vocal advocate (as evidenced by his many TED
talks!) for the idea that the decline associated with ageing is not inevitable
but rather that ageing can be treated and the effects of ageing reversed. In
the scientific literature, there are a number of proposals (some of which have
been demonstrated to work in mice, for instance, caloric restriction) for
treating ageing. The aim of these therapies is to increase the maximum
healthy lifespan and hence to slow or reverse the effects of ageing. In the
following article, de Grey answers critics who argue that anti-ageing
technologies are not really viable.
de Grey, A. (2004). The foreseeability of real anti-aging medicine: Focusing
the debate. Experimental Gerontology, 38(9), 927-934. - Finally, I have selected The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant by Nick Bostrom. This
is an interesting paper in which Bostrom describes a parable about a dragon
tyrant who must be provided with ten thousand men and women each day.
Some of these individuals are eaten upon arrival while others are held
captive for many years during which time they may wither and die.
Bostrom, N. (2005). The fable of the dragon-tyrant. Journal of Medical Ethics,
31 (5), 273-277.
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