Societal effects of negligible senescence
The societal effects of
Definition and characteristics
Proximity of a negligible senescence society
The timeline wherein humanity will achieve a negligible senescence scenario is unclear. For instance, in the
Societal impact
Demographics
The impact of negligible senescence on worldwide demographics is widely accepted;.[6][7] Coale noted that a shift toward near-immortality would have the same long-term impact on population growth as a 10% increase in the fertility rate. As the death rate per thousand people will drop from roughly 10 per thousand (1% per year) to near zero this would thus add an extra 1% population growth each year.[7]
Although aging populations in population pyramids result in "constructive" pyramids which are narrowed at the bottom, this might not necessarily be the case in the aging population in a negligible senescence scenario. Depending on the total fertility rate (TFR) all three different shapes of population pyramids can be observed.[3]
Many questions still remain regarding demographic predictions in negligible senescence scenario's. The TFR has steadily decreased from 5 in 1950–1955 to around 2.5 in 2010–2015. The impact of negligible senescence on future TFR is unclear as there might be a reduced sense of self"replacement". However, this might be offset by no biological limitations on having an unlimited number of children (delay or complete eradication of menopause) which in turn may or may not occur with negligible senescence. Furthermore, the age of mothers might increase or stay stable depending on a myriad of factors thus impacting TFR.[3]
Economics
The impact of negligible senescence on the economy is multi-faceted. Many
Life in a negligible senescence society
As philosopher Nick Bostrom mentioned in his story "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" referring to the end of senescence: “And in the coming days… I believe we have some reorganization to do!”. Humankind has experienced senescence for all its history. Therefore, major challenges are necessarily to fill the void the lack of senescence has now left behind.[9] However, he does not substantiate this any further into practical measures.
See also
- Timeline of senescence research
- Aging brain
- Pro-aging trance
References
- ^ "Virtual Futures Conference 2017".
- ^ Harari, Yuval Noah. Sapiens.
- ^ .
- ^ "Worldbank".
- ^ Harari, Yuval Noah. A brief History of Tomorrow.
- ^ Caselli, G.; Vallin, J. "Demographic trends: Beyond the limits?". Population: An English Selection: 41–71.
- ^ a b Coale, Ansley J. (1959). "Increases in expectation of life and population growth". Proceedings of the International Population Conference.
- ^ "Workplace health promotion, productivity". 12 May 2021.
- ^ Bostrom, Nick (2005). "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant".