"Fountain of Youth" book released
"The Fountain of Youth: Cultural, Scientific, and Ethical Perspectives on a Biomedical Goal," published by Oxford University Press, has just been released. This is a collection of essays edited by Stephen Post and Robert Binstock, both of whom are investigators on the anti-aging ethics project that I work on. The title pretty much describes the content: the quest for anti-aging medicine is weighed by scholars from a variety of perspectives, from theology to literature to science to feminism to politics. My own contribution is a comprehensive annotated bibliography on anti-aging literature, which includes significant articles and books about anti-aging science and medicine, its history, its portrayal in literature, and the ethical analyses of it. Here is the table of contents:
1. The Search for Prolongevity: A Contentious Pursuit, Robert H. Binstock
2. The Quest for Immortality: Visions and Presentiments in Science and Literature, Mark B. Adams
3. Decelerated Aging: Should I Drink From a Fountain of Youth?, Stephen G. Post
4. A Jewish Theology of Death and the Afterlife, Neil Gillman
5. In Defense of Immortality, Carol G. Zaleski
6. In Search of the Holy Grail of Senescence, S.Jay Olshansky and Bruce A. Carnes
7. The Metabiology of Life Extension, Michael R. Rose
8. Extending Human Longevity: A Biological Probability, Robert Arking
9. Eat Less, Eat Better, and Live Longer: Does It Work and Is It Worth It? The Role of Diet in Aging, Gemma Casadesus, George Perry, James A. Joseph, and Mark A. Smith
10. Extending Life: Scientific Prospects and Political Obstacles, Richard A. Miller
11. An Engineer's Approach To Developing Real Anti-Aging Medicine, Aubrey D.N.J. de Grey
12. An Unnatural Process: Why It Is Not Inherently Wrong To Seek a Cure For Aging, Arthur L. Caplan
13. Longevity, Identity, and Moral Character: A Feminist Approach, Christine Overall
14. LeChaim and Its Limits: Why Not Immortality?, Leon R. Kass
15. Anti-Aging Research and the Limits of Medicine, Eric T. Juengst
16. The Social and Justice Implications of Extending the Human Life Span, Audrey R. Chapman
17. The Prolonged Old, the Long-Lived Society, and the Politics of Age, Robert H. Binstock
Epilogue: Extended Life, Eternal Life: A Christian Perspective, Diogenes Allen
Annotated Bibliography, Roselle S. Ponsaran
Primary Literary Sources on Prolongevity, Carol A. Donley
Are there any reviews out yet?
Not that I know of. We literally just got our copies from the publisher this week so review copies may still be working their way out.
Nice list of authors. Thanks for posting, Roselle.
You're should post references and discussion on reviews here once they turn up online - it looks to be an interesting volume. I'd offer to review myself, but I think we can all predict what my responses would be on an essay by essay basis - no need for the book itself :)