The Cosmic Thinker’s and Essayist’s Notebook

🪐 A Questioner for the Survival of the Universe
📖 Reading to grasp the axis of history,
📜 Designing the future of civilization through policy,
🔭 Sowing seeds of thought that will endure even 100,000 years from now.

“The universe continues to expand, and so does my thinking within it. To be alive—this itself is my mission.”

“Welcome to a small planet for those who question life and civilization from a cosmic perspective, and for those who share the curiosity.”

about

🪐 A Questioner for the Survival of the Universe 📖 Reading to grasp the axis of history, 📜 Designing the future of civilization through policy, 🔭 Sowing seeds of thought that will endure even 100,000 years from now. “The universe continues to expand, and so does my thinking within it. To be alive—this itself is my mission.” “Welcome to a small planet for those who question life and civilization from a cosmic perspective, and for those who share the curiosity.”

12/29/2024

1) Is Aging a Disease?

In 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the disease code MG-2A for aging-related conditions in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). This essentially means that the WHO has chosen to classify aging as a disease.

Viewing aging as a disease is both unusual and groundbreaking. To call aging a disease implies that it is treatable, and that advances in medicine could exponentially extend the time before death caused by aging. In fact, some mammals and crustaceans with extremely active telomerase enzymes rarely develop cancer and may not die naturally except from molting or external stress. Inevitably, the subject of immortality leads us to a philosophical question: should voluntary euthanasia be permitted in such a world?

2) Should Euthanasia Be Allowed?

Euthanasia Coaster (2016): Designed by Julijonas Urbonas, a graduate of the Royal College of Art in London. The coaster reaches a height of 510 meters, extends 7,500 meters in length, and accelerates to 360 km/h. Riders experience 10G of gravitational force, lose consciousness, and die without significant pain.
Sarco Capsule (2017): Designed by Dr. Philip Haig Nitschke, an Australian physician. The capsule fills with nitrogen, reducing the oxygen concentration from 21% to 1% within 30 seconds, leading to death by hypoxia.

These examples illustrate a larger point: even if immortality becomes possible, there will come a time when death must be faced. Ideally, death should be designed to be as painless as surgery, allowing individuals to accept it peacefully. If death truly is the end, then life should allow the option to complete one’s “bucket list” and conclude with dignity.

This raises the question of whether society has developed the institutional and systemic frameworks necessary to support such choices. For example, while the age threshold is debatable, one might imagine giving individuals aged 50 and above the opportunity to freely choose euthanasia. Ultimately, the successful establishment and operation of such a system would depend on the maturity of both the social consensus and the institutional framework.