Anti-Aging A Step Back in The Value of Life - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 643 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/05/31 Category Philosophy Essay Level High school Tags: Value of Life Essay Did you like this example? In recent years, a new field in biotechnology has rose: anti-aging. By use of stem cells taken from an embryo, scientists hope to use these self-replicating, multi-purpose cells to repair any degeneration that may occur as humans age. With the Baby Boom generation beginning to reach their time, skincare companies and researchers alike are trying to milk aging individuals fear of, well, aging. There are ethical concerns in regard to this issue. The matter of using human embryos that are chiefly for reproduction for other causes, and many question the ethics of intervening with one of life’s most natural process. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Anti-Aging A Step Back in The Value of Life" essay for you Create order As the average life expectancy of Americans continues to rise, reaching an average of 78 in 2010, scientists are in a race to find key to the evasive fountain of youth. Yet, above the ethical concerns and implications, the questions still remains: is it really worth it? Yes, it’s cool to think that one day, the average age of a human being could reach as high as 150 years of age, and the science behind cell regeneration and replacement is, I’ll admit, pretty bitchin’, what good would a thousands of really old people truly contribute to our society? With government healthcare cost projections already at a sky-high of nearly 83 million dollars in the next thirty years, the cost to keep an even larger number of elderly people alive would lead this already unsustainable cost to reach an even further max. With elderly people already expending upwards of 60 percent of Medicare, do we even have enough money to live longer? Additionally, cultures and societies have already been constructed around the universality of death. Younger generations gradually phase out the older generations, replacing important positions in government and other occupations. How long would older generations continue to work if their lives are extended and remain in perfectly good health for years to come? The extension of life of older generation further inhibits the voice of younger generations to be heard. Besides the potential of a gerontocracy or the smell of old people permeating the air we breathe, what true purpose does the extension of one’s life contribute towards? The cycle of life has evolved to be that way in order to prevent overpopulation and the exhaustion of resources. Rather than wasting scientific resources on anti-aging technology, research should be furthered to improve people’s current lives. A common argument that scientists that are for anti-aging technology is that it prevents suffering of diseases that occur in old age as immunity levels weaken. However, this can be achieved without extending lives, but rather spending resources on curing diseases, rather than focusing on widening the lifespan of the aging population. On top of that, anti-aging technology will indubitably elicit a hefty paycheck, with only some of the wealthiest of elderly people being able to afford radical life extension, an idea that is unfair to those who may not be able to spend such a large amount. If the argument of scientists in the field of anti-aging technology is to prevent suffering of old age and disease, then biotechnology companies should be more judicious with how they plan to better society as a whole. Besides the sociological and scientific implications of radical life extension, cultural and philosophical consequences arise. The race to achieve the scientific breakthrough of radical life extension poses little benefits to society as a whole, and is rather a narcissistic vision that can be equated to wishing for the ability to fly or be invisible. The idea of anti-aging technology clashes directly with the philosophy of most cultures and belief systems and the divinity in nature’s way of giving and taking back life. There is value to a limited life. In the investment into extending an ultimately finite existence, we run the risk of losing what it means to exist, to be human.

Guests of the Sheik An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village Essay

Guests of the Sheik 1. You are Fatima, a middle-aged, middle-class woman in El Nahra, Iraq in 1954. You have met an American woman for the first time in your life, and have come to know her pretty well. But you just cannot understand how she can be happy living according to the American customs she has described to you. Construct Fatima’s argument for why the customs of Iraq, especially as they relate to gender roles and gender relationships, are vastly superior to those of the United States. It is difficult for Fatima to comprehend the American way of living especially from a woman’s perspective. She sincerely believes that her way is better. For an Arabic woman, particularly in the rural Iraq in 1950’s, marriage is the only goal and†¦show more content†¦Otherwise, it leaves a woman with no means for existence. Also, these women had a different point of view in regards to the sexual life. They learn to love and be passionate about their husbands. Passion is important to them since they don’t spend much time with their husbands otherwise. That was probably not the case with most American women in the 1950’s when husbands and wives didn’t even share a bed. And, finally, Fatima is shocked to learn that some older women in American culture get sent to the retirement centers away from their families (p. 185). First of all, lives of Iraqi women are centered on their womenfolk. Fatima feels sorry that Elizabeth is so far from her mother and all on her own in a foreign country. And then, the older age is the deserved age for Iraqi women when, after life hard work, they â€Å"enjoy the repose and respect as members of their children’s households.† (p. 185) Mothers pick wives for their sons. And, as in case of Laila’s friend, they can really spoil lives of their daughters-in-law if they choose to. â€Å"In spite of the relative obscurity in which these women lived† they had an incredible influence on men, their husbands and especially their sons. (p. 56) So, Fatima genially feels sorry for Elizabeth with her inferior American customs. 2. Although veiling and the seclusionShow MoreRelatedGuests of the Sheik: Ethnography of an Iraqi Village805 Words   |  4 PagesGuests of the Sheik: Ethnography of an Iraqi Village Written in the late 1950’s this is ethnography of a small village El Nahra, in Iraq. Elizabeth Fernea, the author, is the new wife of an anthropologist, who joins her husband in Iraq to do his graduate work. As an American woman, Elizabeth eventually chooses to integrate herself into tribal society by donning the traditional abayah (what we know as a burka), avoiding being seen by unfamiliar men. She lives and eats and works as the womenRead More Elizabeth Fernea’s Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village2540 Words   |  11 PagesYou arrive at a village, and in this calm environment, one starts to hear echo. -- Yannick Noah The writings of various ethnographers and anthropologists are intended to inform and educate the reader by imparting awareness and understanding of unexplored cultures. The value of such a work is directly related to the author’s familiarity with the culture. For instance, an individual intimately acquainted with a situation have different insights, but also different biases than an outsiderRead MoreDifferent Culture in Guest of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea777 Words   |  3 Pagesnot easy to accept or agree with other people’s culture. The ethnography, â€Å"Guests of the Sheik†, written by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea really captures what it is like to live and to be immersed into another culture. Ethnography is â€Å"comprised of the writings of the anthropologist, detailing the life ways of a particular culture, investigated by means of direct fieldwork† (Arenson, and Miller-Thayer 1). Elizabeth Fernea lived in a small village of El Nahra in southern Iraq for two years to gather dataRead MoreGuest of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnok Fernea814 Words   |  3 Pagesare more to it. There are many different types of marriages. In an ethnography called, Guest of the Sheik, by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, she talks about her experiences in a small rural village of El Nahra in southern Iraq. Ethnography is â€Å"comprised of the writings of the anthropologist, detailing the life ways of a particular culture, investigated by means of direct fieldwork† (1). As she gets accepted by the women of the villages, she gets a more inclusive view of the culture. Elizabeth FerneaRead MoreGuests of the Sheik2095 Words   |  9 PagesGuests of the Sheik 10/27/10 Anthropology Ciara Schultz Out of all the many countries in the world, each one is unique and individualistic with many exclusive qualities to each one. Many times, the countries get compared to the Western civilization of the United States. The book Guests of the Sheik is just that, but more. An American woman, (Elizabeth Fernea) travels to a completely foreign land, not known at all to her and experiences the culture first hand. She is at first willing, sinceRead MoreGuests of the Sheik Essay1544 Words   |  7 PagesEthnocentrism: The Cultural Differences between Western and Middle Eastern Cultures Through its ethnocentric tales and family based beliefs, Elizabeth Warnock Fernea’s Guests of the Sheik suggests that to find the true representation of Islamic culture, one must leave ethnocentrism behind. Not only will we discuss ethnocentrism and the cultural differences between Western and Middle Eastern societies, we will also take a look at the women of El Nahra and family within the differing

A White Heron Free Essays

Sarah Orne Jewett was born in South Berwrick, Maine (actually she is a native of New England). I would say ‘A white Heron’ is one of Sarah’s best regionalism works. Sarah began to write stories at her young age. We will write a custom essay sample on A White Heron or any similar topic only for you Order Now She wrote stories by her everyday life experiences and publishes at her teens. â€Å"In ‘A White Heron’ a young girl’s conflicted loyalties to her conception of herself in nature and to the world of men she will soon encounter are memorable and sensitively drawn†. This is the story of nine year old girl named Sylvia. This is the short story of Sylvia who is actually experiencing an innocent childhood life has found a new changes in herself and discover her womanhood by short period of time. We could say even this story also had the setting of Sarah’s own experienced place which is her native New England. In ‘A white Heron’ Sylvia was living with her grandmother. Sarah started this story by expressing the innocence of the 9 year old little Sylvia. Everybody said that it was a good change for a little maid who had tried to grow for eight years in a crowded manufacturing town, but, as for Sylvia herself it seemed as if she never had been alive at all before she came to live at the farm† She completely living a life which is opposite of city’s life. And Sylvia loved this peaceful and simple life with her grandmother and of course the other mother â€Å"Nature†. This story starts with Sylvia searching for her cow in one fine summer evening in the wood forest. It was her greatest pleasure to hide herself away among the high huckleberry bushes, and though she wore a loud bell she had made the discovery that if one stood perfectly still it would not ring†. It shows that Sylvia and her cow were playing hide and seek on that night while going back their home. â€Å"Suddenly this little woods girl is horror stricken to hear a clear whistle not very far away. Not a bird’s whistle, which would have a sort of friendliness, but a boy’s whistle†. During their journey Sylvia heard a boy’s whistled and met that stranger. He was hunter and he was actually lost his way and asked for Sylvia’s help and he asked her â€Å"Speak up and tell me what your name is, and whether you think I can spend the night at your house and go out gunning early in the morning†. Sylvia continued her journey with her cow and the hunter and finally they reached home. â€Å"Mrs. Tilley was standing in the doorway when the trio came into view†¦ The young man stood his gun beside the door, and dropped a lumpy game bag beside it; then he bade Mrs. Tilley good evening and repeated his warer’s story†. Grandma and the hunter were talking and Sylvia was playing outside in the moonlight. â€Å"But as the day waned, Sylvia still watched the young man with loving admiration. She had never seen anybody so charming and delightful; the woman’s heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by a dream of love†. Hunter was very kind to them and he looks handsome. Next day Sylvia found some changes in herself. She felt like that she drawn for the stranger. Here some sort of her womanhood can be seen instead of her childhood innocence. We can say that her childhood innocence has started to move backward and her adult feeling comes forward. The hunter was looking for very rare white heron. He came to know that Sylvia is aware of all kind of birds. And he also knew that Sylvia and her grandmother are poor. â€Å"I can’t think of anything I should like so much as to find that heron’s nest, the handsome stranger was saying, I would give ten dollars to anybody who could show it to me†. He has given a try to know about the heron by asking indirectly to Sylvia by saying he could give ten dollars for anyone who helps him to find that bird. Sylvia could possibly accept that ten dollars and help the hunter to find the white heron. â€Å"No amount of thought, that night, could decide how many wished-for treasures the ten dollars, so lightly spoken of, would buy†. She was thinking about the pine tree which can be seen at the edge of the forest. She knew that she can find the heron over there and she went to that place next day morning itself. â€Å"She had often climbed there, and knew that higher still one of the oak’s upper boughs were set close together†¦she went up and reach farther and farther upward†. She reached top of the tree. And she came across the best things in her life. We could say she is experiencing the ‘symbol of natures’. From the top view she is watching the whole forest; she could see the see in the moon view. Finally here is the time for the sun rise and ready to find the white heron. â€Å"Look, look! A white spot of him like a single floating feather comes up from the dead hemlock and grows larger, and rises, and comes at last, and goes by the landmark pine with steady sweep of wing †¦ plumes his feather for the new day† As the sun started to glow Sylvia found the rare white heron and its nest. By reaching top of the big tree it-self shows that Sylvia has reached her womanhood and put aside her childhood innocence. Sylvia now knows the secret of white heron but she is decided not to reveal this to anyone. She doesn’t want to give up the life of the bird just for ten dollars even though money is important for her. She valued the bird’s life more than the money. She would not be satisfied and feel happier even with those ten dollars more than how she feels by saving white heron’s life. Whatever treasures were lost to her, woodlands and summer-time, remember! † Sylvia has discovered her womanhood by climbing the big tree and by keeping the secret of the bird. She has found the treasures of herself and love towards nature. Sarah explains the importance of moral values of young girls towards this story. She is claimed that Sylvia has taken the right decision at right time. She did what her heart said and she valued lives and nature more than money. In life our every day to day decision would bring big changes in our future. How to cite A White Heron, Papers