38
The War on Aging
causes remains a lot rarer than death from causes that physi-
ologically young individuals usually escape. This will entail
a considerable acceleration in the rate at which we alter our
lifestyles. (I predicted in 1999 that once we cure aging driving
will be outlawed [18]; I still think that is likely, at least unless
cars become much more automated and accidents thereby
made very rare even after severe human error.) This is the
final component of the logic underlying my prediction [19]
that the average age at death of those born in wealthy nations
in the year 2100 will exceed 5000 years, which is perhaps five
times the value resulting from a permanent enjoyment of the
mortality rate of young teenagers in such nations today.
RETHINKING CORPOREAL CONTINUITY
One contributor to involuntary death was omitted from
my survey in the preceding section: frustration. Adjustments
in society to diminish greatly the incidence of death from
armed conflict, homicide and accidents are already accepted
as welcome in principle; all that is in question is the extent
to which such measures can be implemented without unac-
ceptably infringing human rights or expending resources that
could achieve similar life extension in other ways, and these
arguments become weaker as the amount of life lost by an
avoidable death increases. It will thus be entirely in keeping
with contemporary social norms if the cure of aging, and
the widespread appreciation that violent death deprives the
individual of an indefinite number of years, causes society to
embrace such changes, even ones that were vigorously resisted
hitherto. But the same cannot necessarily be said for lifestyle
changes that severely and permanently impact the quality of
our newly indefinite lives. Unfortunately, some of the activi-
ties that make our lives fulfilling are associated with a definite