5 ms·
Let's use some criteria from Diseased thinking: dissolving questions about disease (http://lesswrong.com/lw/2as/real_diseases_unasking_the_question/ http://less
by AngryParsley 14y ago
Let's use some criteria from Diseased thinking: dissolving questions about disease (http://lesswrong.com/lw/2as/real_diseases_unasking_the_question/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/2as/real_diseases_unasking_the_quest...).
1. Biological? Yes
2. Involuntary? Yes
3. Rare? No
4. Unpleasant? Yes
5. Discrete? No
6. Medicable? Yes
So aging has many aspects of what we call disease. Of course, the implied question that everyone cares about is is, "Will humanity be better off if we devote more resources to curing aging?" The answer to that brings much more baggage, and depends on your moral and religious views.
- JulianMorrison 14y agoAgeing is pretty discrete - at least if you're looking at the accumulating damage, rather than the bio-machinery that creates it as a side effect. Complex mechanism -> simple damage -> complex symptoms because the simple damage is body-pervasive.
- chucknthem 14y agoOut of that list, I think unpleasant is what separates a disease from other biological phenomena. You can say the same thing about human growth (the early parts of aging), but it's not unpleasant until later.
- Zak 14y agoI'm not even sure that's the right question. If you're asking about spending government money on it or donating to a charity in support of it, then it's the right question. If you're asking whether private research in to it should be forbidden by law or made impractical through regulation, I think it's not the right question. A better question might be "Is there any compelling reason to forbid this?".