The CALM Scramble

ESPAÑOL

I am currently taking a course on design thinking. One of the first assignments was to read the book As the Future Catches You by Juan Enriquez. It presents many of the advances made in science, technology, and genome research, that will not only change the economic landscape, but also the social structures upon which humans have evolved. As I was reading it, I couldn’t help but notice a common thread along many of the innovations: Fear.

Basically, all of the advances are going at a great pace, and there aren’t any chances that they might slow down. However, we can question why we have such a rush in getting those particular results. Many might argue that it is a lack of fear from God. I can argue that it is a fear of death, which ironically stems from our fear from God (at least from the image of the mighty one portrayed by many religions). Otherwise, why would we need to extend our livelihood? Our current society is so afraid of disease and death, that we entered this race towards immortality. There’s the fear of punishment in the after-life, or lack of transcendence in this life. Both concepts are rooted in ancient religious beliefs, rather than irrefutable evidence.

I am happy about getting better treatments for diseases, and increasing our comfort and dignity as we are on our final years before facing the unknown. What I don’t like is the idea of having the achievement of immortality lurking around the corner. I belief we need to accept death. Ancient communities seemed to have a better grasp of this fact of live. For example, the Hippocratic Oath, which we can owe to the Greeks, sets medicine as a pursuit of benefits for the sick, but in no way regards preventive elements of modern practice.

Literature has also gone through some debate on the subject. In Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, he travels to the land of the Struldbrugs, which are beings endowed with immortality. Although Gulliver is initially impressed by the idea, he is drawn to the opposite conclusion as the Struldbrugs describe the unfolding of their eternal lives. On another example, part of the vampire myth is their curse in leading an immortal life, in addition to the more apparent curse of blood-feeding. In any case this fictional characters all crave for a peaceful resting end.

In conclusion, we need to have a better debate on the acceptance of death. Having a high affinity with science, I would agree in the continuation in our efforts to improve health conditions for all. But being successful in that front will endanger getting results in other areas that also require scientific and social efforts, since our current sustainability problems will only be worst if we end with one of the most balancing traits of life: we all die.