Abstract
Man’s self-awareness has proven to be uncomfortable to him; he realizes that his life-span is finite, and knows of nothing that will prevent his physical and mental health from slowly declining to the point where death will be unavoidable. Naturally man, with his characteristic curiosity and love of life, wonders why this is so, how it happens, and what can be done, or should be done, about it. Is our life-span sufficient? If we should live any longer, would it be unbearable? An important difference exists between simply living out one’s natural life-span and living the same number of years in an optimum state of vigor and health. Man’s optimum period is from about 14 to 30 years of age, or only about one-fifth of his life-span.
The ancient covenant is in pieces; man knows at last he is alone in the universe’s unfeeling immensity, out of which he emerged only by chance. His destiny is nowhere spelled out, nor is his duty. The kingdom above or the darkness below: it is for him to choose.
Chance and Necessity — Jacques Monod, 1971
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© 1978 Plenum Press, New York
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Cutler, R.G. (1978). Evolutionary Biology of Senescence. In: Behnke, J.A., Finch, C.E., Moment, G.B. (eds) The Biology of Aging. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3994-6_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3994-6_20
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