Is it desirable to cure all diseases?

[radamfi]

There are health charities covering almost every possible disease or ailment. Whilst their hearts are in the right place, is it actually desirable to cure all diseases, so that everyone lives forever?

 

[DarloRich]

Living for ever is one thing - not aging would be the key

 

[455driver]

They will never cure stupidity!

 

[GB]

There are health charities covering almost every possible disease or ailment. Whilst their hearts are in the right place, is it actually desirable to cure all diseases, so that everyone lives forever?

People would still age and die naturally, curing diseases would not alter this. But yes, I would say curing all diseases is desirable as I don't think anyones life should be blighted by crippling or terminal conditions.

 

[radamfi]

People would still age and die naturally, curing diseases would not alter this. But yes, I would say curing all diseases is desirable as I don't think anyones life should be blighted by crippling or terminal conditions.

But there is always an underlying cause of death. You can't just write "old age" on a death certificate, can you?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

My grandfather, who was 78 I think, died of what a layman could reasonably chalk up to being 'old age': the official cause of death was a heart attack in his sleep. I have no medical qualifications at all but I don't see, whilst you could potentially cure diseases such as cancer or AIDS, how it would ever be possible to stop somebody's body from the natural process and growing old and eventually giving in.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

They will never cure stupidity!

As often proved by some outrageously unbelievable posting responses on this website...

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Nope, if you cure all diseases I'll loose my career. Thankfully people would still have accidents so I suppose there would still be some work.

 

[Flamingo]

Everybody dies of something...

 

[Oswyntail]

As each new disease is "cured", a new one comes along to finish us off.
I can think of nothing more terrifying than the prospect of being kept alive forever, even in "reasonable" health. Add in the possibility of dementia and then you can pass the gun. Especially as we would be surrounded by an ever-growing army of old folk.
One of the aspects that makes life special for us is our frailty, and the knowledge that we could pop our clogs at any minute. Deprive us of that and you deprive us of humanity.

 

[radamfi]

I can think of nothing more terrifying than the prospect of being kept alive forever, even in "reasonable" health. Add in the possibility of dementia and then you can pass the gun.

But if you are so fed up with life that you want to die, then you are effectively suffering from depression, and therefore a disease. Of course, dementia is a disease anyway.

Also, it could be argued that the gradual deterioration of the body (senescence or 'ageing') is a disease in itself.

 

[ainsworth74]

I think we then need a better definition of 'disease'. From what you're saying the actual question you're asking is 'is it desirable for humans to live forever?'. Which is a bit different, to my mind, from asking should we cure all disease because I don't consider the body naturally degrading with age to be a disease. Cancer? Or dementia? Or AIDS? Or a host of other ailments sure. But my heart conking out one night when I'm 100 years old isn't what I'd call a disease.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Further to what Oswyntail said, for me, the prospect of living for ever would be more scary than depressing - I don't think that's a disease, it's more of an emotion or feeling.

 

[bb21]

There are health charities covering almost every possible disease or ailment. Whilst their hearts are in the right place, is it actually desirable to cure all diseases, so that everyone lives forever?

Is it desirable to have birth controls, which has been implemented in some countries?

As natural wastage goes down significantly, over-population becomes a much more pressing problem all over the world.

 

[radamfi]

I think it common understanding that senescence is not a disease as such because it causes death so gradually. Diseases such as cancer, heart disease etc. can cut short life very dramatically. Once 'mainstream' diseases are cured, then I'm sure the medical community would then look at conquering death through ageing. There is of course already research into that. It was/is thought that calorie restriction slows down ageing.

 

[Butts]

One factor that may prevent the medical panacea, is the increasing number of drugs such as antibiotics that are being rendered ineffective as bacteria develop a resistance to their application.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I think that those who have trade in the undertaking business would not be happy to see a sudden decline for their services.