Update on Book Project
This summer I am furiously working away at completing a decade-long research monograph on the ethics of longevity science that will be published with Oxford University Press. The book is motivated by the general question:
"How can philosophy help us think about the ethical significance of translational science?"
The case study for the book, which illustrates how philosophy can help us think sagely about translational science, is translational gerontology-- new knowledge about the biology of aging and how different genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors can influence healthy/unhealthy longevity.
The book draws upon the past 25 years of research I have been undertaking to explore how biological knowledge ought to inform our normative theorizing about ethics and biomedical innovation. The book covers the intellectual history of both the war against disease and rate (of aging) control, the war against cancer, the role of imagination in science, women's health and longevity, folkbiology, science communication, pragmatism, Frankenstein, philosophy of science, the COVID-19 pandemic, intersectionality, the "medialization" of science and climate change. The book really has been a genuine labour of love for me (equal parts labour and love!), something I feel I have been writing my whole life.
I have a draft of approximately 105 000 words completed, and am just going over the final revisions of the full document before writing a concluding section and formatting the countless references I rely upon. The book builds upon, and integrates into a coherent whole, insights and arguments I have published in journal articles on geroscience in the following (mostly) scientific journals in recent years:
The book will be available as an open access book in 2026. Now back to writing and revising!
Cheers,
Colin
posted by Colin Farrelly at 12:52 PM
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