Life extension terminology
Life extension terminology covers a broad range of terms used to discuss life extension in different contexts.
Why pick your terms?
For the majority of people who are non-futurists, human modification and fancy new technologies are not necessarily desirable. They have associations of failing bodies, weakening minds and the reliance on regular supplements, joint replacements and so forth. As such common transhumanists terms around cyborgization, mind uploading and biohacking have limited utility outside such a context.
Even when focused on biological immortalism, advocates often enthusiastically use the jargon of life extension, immortalism and longevity, all terms associated with a long, not not necessarily happy of healthy life. Consequently, many are turned-off by the movement, seeing a extended life of suffering, pain and medical interventions as horrific.[1]
This is where the focus on health comes in.
Scientific terms
When addressing a scientific audience or in a scientific context, one should once again avoid life extensionist or immortalist rhetoric. Examples to use:
- Senescence research
- Biogerontological research
- Rejuvenation research or Rejuveneering[2], a term coined by Aubrey de Grey
- Regenerative Medicine[3]
- Aging Research (conservative audience)
- Longevity Research (life extensionist audience)
- Aging and Longevity Research (mixed audience)
- Anti-aging
- Geroscience[4]
Mainstream terms
When addressing the general public, especially non-futurists and older people, focus on health, quality of life and prevention of age-related ailments should be the focus:
- Increase people's healthspan - a term adopted by the Global Healthspan Policy Institute
- 'Mitigate the underlying causes of disease', 'targeting aging' or 'aging as a disability' - softer versions of aging as a disease
- Longevity dividend - the idea quantifying the multiple social and economic benefits of longer lives
- Indefinite life extension or advocating indefinite life spans
The International Society on Aging and Disease uses the slogan:
Promoting biomedical research of ageing and ageing-related diseases to improve health and longevity of the elderly population[5]
References
- ↑ Some scientists think there’s no upper limit on ageing. Let’s hope they’re wrong
- ↑ Rejuvenation Research
- ↑ Regenerative Medicine Comes of Age
- ↑ Wikipedia:Geroscience
- ↑ The Critical Need to Promote Research of Aging and Aging-related Diseases to Improve Health and Longevity of the Elderly Population