Where Is the Boundary to Augment Life?

Cloning, CRISPR and gene editing, synthetic life forms, and longevity. The latest scientific discoveries are able to offset the natural order of human existence and meddle with sacred questions of life and death. Even so, does gaining insight into the secrets of being mean it should also be put into practice? Are we aware of the consequences? Where are the boundaries to augment life? Life, death and the coin for Charon the Ferryman In Japanese folklore, the Shinigami, gods or spirits of death came to the persons who were destined to die and invited them over the threshold of life and death. In ancient Egypt, Anubis, having the body of a man and the head of a jackal, guided the dead to the Underworld. Looking at Greek mythology, the Fates or Moira, three weaving goddesses were responsible for weaving the thread of life. They were present at birth and death – deciding when to form and when to cut the fiber of every mortal’s existence. The ancient Greeks believed that Thanatos or Charon the Ferryman accompanied the dead to the Underworld, the reign of Hades. For easing the route, the tradition was to put a coin on the lips of the deceased to pay the passage on the Styx River to Charon. No mortal could come back from Hades’ territory. The collective imagination of humanity is fascinating when it comes to the feared terrain of death and the sanctity of life. Every religion has had its own myths and legends about the passing of life and death, but there were some very low com...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Bioethics Cyborgization artificial intelligence augmentation bioethical cloning CRISPR death future gene editing Health Healthcare life longevity research synthetic life Source Type: blogs