There’s an aphorism to the effect that no one lies on their deathbed and thinks, if only I’d gone to one more meeting. The logic is that impending death clarifies what had been important about life. In the same vein, it seems likely that few longevity zealots will lie there and think, if only I’d done one more ice-plunge.
There’s no denying that this movement’s attempt to prolong life is, on one level, a fascinating example of human ingenuity. But “biohacking” in hope of circumventing the hand dealt by genes and fate, seeking to live to 150 years, or 200, or forever, misses the point. The value of life is measured in quality, not quantity.
The fact is that a very good life can be lived in a short number of years. As Marcus Aurelius argued, let the knowledge that death could be imminent guide your thoughts and actions. This is not reason to blow out a bank account or tell off an in-law. Instead, live such that you can be content always with how life has gone, because any moment may be the last.
Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius meditated on the concept 'Memento Mori' – a Latin phrase meaning 'remember you must die.'ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images
No matter the number of years, knowing that a hard stop inexorably approaches should force people to judge priorities and live intentionally.
Just as warm summer evenings are made all the sweeter by the knowledge that winter will eventually come, the fact that life’s journey must end is a reason to cherish it all the more, not cause for dejection or desperate measures.
Humanity has a long history of trying to defang death.
Many religions offer the chance of spiritual immortality or reincarnation in physical form. Dying people may take solace in the knowledge that they will “live on” in the memories of those close to them. Legacies offer another way to maintain a sort of presence after death. And Terror Management Theory, a psychological concept, posits that people form cultural bonds in part because doing so means belonging to a larger thing, a collective that will outlive the individual.
Biohackers often take a more physical approach to longevity, incorporating wellness practices as simple as diet changes and routine cold plunges to treatments as costly and complicated as experimental pharmacology and full-body diagnostic testing.ADREES LATIF/Reuters
Biohackers tend to take a more physical and less philosophical approach, relying on elaborate health and wellness plans. Some of these are rooted in medical science, others less so. At the most extreme, biohacking involves highly irregular approaches that don’t sound much fun.
The poster boy for this is U.S. tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson. He argues that “we might be the first generation that doesn’t die” and spends millions annually on his longevity plan, which includes infusions of his son’s plasma and obsessively tracking his nighttime erections. He recently announced having contracted an incurable autoimmune condition and then claimed to have cloned himself in hopes of, one day, growing new organs.
However, most people seeking to extend their lifespan are not so out there. Canadian telecom entrepreneur Anthony Lacavera has a regimen that seems benign by comparison to Mr. Johnson’s approach, though it still involves spending $100,000 annually on scans, hormones and supplements. He dreams of living to 200 years of age.
Canadian telecom entrepreneur Anthony Lacavera spends $100,000 annually on scans, hormones and supplements, with hopes of reaching his 200th birthday.Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail
To be clear, there’s nothing objectionable in taking care of one’s health. This is such a widespread goal that the global wellness industry is expected to grow to nearly $10-trillion (U.S.) by the end of the decade.
However, approach matters. The basics of healthy living have long been known: not smoking, not drinking to excess, a well-rounded diet, regular exercise and a good social life. Rather than obsessively trying to beat the clock, a balanced life is important.
Consider a fitness tracker that provides training goals. It doesn’t know if the person is tired or depressed. Instead doing of the workout it prescribes, someone may be psychologically better off – healthier – by meeting a friend at the museum. In the same way, the benefits to mental well-being of enjoying a delicious meal may outweigh the medical benefits of ingesting a smoothie and a handful of supplements.
The concept of healthspan is the recognition that lifespan – years of life – is not the only relevant measure. The number of healthy years is also an important marker. To that we should add joyspan: how many joyful years does one have?
By focusing on the goal of an implausibly long time on Earth, at the expense of enjoyment in the meantime, the longevity movement risks turning life into a marathon of asceticism.
The basics of healthy living have long been known and offer guidance for a balanced life, rather than pursuing a goal of an implausibly long time on Earth.Francisco Seco/The Associated Press
Joy is an important part of life, though not the only thing that matters. What else is there? Philosophers and writers through the ages have wrestled with the question and offer some inspiration for achieving more than mere happiness, which is an inherently transient state.
In Homer’s poem The Odyssey, the nymph Calypso offers Odysseus eternal life if he will stay with her. Instead he leaves to go to home to his wife, choosing love even at the cost of death.
What the Greeks called eudaimonia translates as something akin to flourishing, or living well. Aristotle was a champion, writing in his work Nicomachean Ethics that it is a pursuit of virtue and excellence, a lifelong goal.
Aristotle argued that the ultimate goal of life is to achieve 'eudaimonia' by living a life of moral and intellectual excellence.UNIVERSAL HISTORY ARCHIVE
The Stoics argued for inner resilience while the Epicureans sought joy through simplicity. Other philosophical schools urged deep friendship, intentional action and mindset, contentment and avoiding anxiety.
Avoiding anxiety does not mean ignoring the reality of death, though.
The biohackers forget the lesson chanted by Gregorians in the 13th century: Media vita morte summus. This means “in the midst of life we are in death” and reminds that mortality is close even when someone is in the pink of health.
The knowledge that life’s journey is short, and its end unpredictably timed, brings into focus what is important. It allows people to find value in little victories and joy in small things, because fate leaves the big picture beyond their control. Instead of saying there’s no point in smelling roses because we’re all going to die anyway, stop and smell those flowers because they are a moment of beauty right now.
Visitors picnic under cherry blossom trees in Kameoka, Japan, a practice called 'hanami,' the Japanese custom of flower viewing.Carl Court/Getty Images
The Japanese concept of Mono no aware gets to the heart of this. This translates as something like the “pathos of things” and informs that culture’s reverence for cherry blossoms. These blooms are beloved not only because they are beautiful, but because they don’t last. In their transience – a short season, and then they are gone – they represent humans’ fleeting time on earth.
While advances in medical knowledge have done wonders at reducing infant mortality, once those deaths are removed from the statistics an interesting pattern emerges.
Life expectancy at five years of age in mid-Victorian times, according to a 2008 paper in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, was the same as what it is currently for boys of that age in Canada. For girls, improvements in maternal health mean that a Canadian who is five years old now can expect to live about six years longer than her Victorian counterpart did.
That is a praiseworthy achievement, but less than might be expected given more than a century of medical advances. While great progress remains possible, it’s also possible that we are bumping up against some sort of natural limit of human life.
Rather than raging against the inevitable end, better to live life as it should be lived, right now. That means fewer supplements, fewer ice baths – and more joy.