The Answer Is Easy
As Ronald Bailey points out, the answer to the final question in this MSNBC op-ed by bioethicist Art Caplan is indeed easy and immediate. "Is it right to repair ourselves if it means that we live much longer than any human being has ever lived? ... The answer is easy: Yes. A long healthy life is a moral good. More life is better." As I've long pointed out, bioethicists are people who have put themselves into the position of requiring a constant stream of problems to justify their income. So of course, once they've exhausted debate over the limited range of actual problems - without helping in any way to overcome those problems - they drum up pseudo- and non-problems from nothing. There should be no debate over longevity; those who want to live longer, healthier lives will strive to do so, and those who do not will choose to suffer and die earlier than they might. But more life is good, for everything that is good in this world depends on someone being alive and well to make it happen. After that, all there is to argue over is why it is that some people feel they can force their choices of aging and longevity upon the rest of us.