Events
Asking the unaskable question - Do we have a right not to die?
Wednesday 25 June 2008
Strategic Futurist Marcus Barber has contributed a chapter to Volume Five of the 'Death and Anti-Death' Anthology which has just been published by Ria University. With contributors including Aubrey de Grey and Kevin Kelly and edited by Dr. Charles Tandy, Volume Five in the series is dedicated to the memory of Loren Eiseley, the renowned Anthropologist, science writer and environmental advocate.
Available through Amazon the full title is 'Death And Anti-Death, Volume 5: Thirty Years After Loren Eiseley (1907-1977)' and is available in hardcover for $39.95.
Marcus Barber's chapter poses the question whether any individual has the right not to die, given the emergence of the wide assortment of technological developments available in the area of health and life extension. Barber suggests that the challenge is whether, given the wide disparity of health outcomes across the globe, any one individual with the financial means, has the right to extend their life indefinitely given the high rates of mortality elsewhere in the world.
Barber also posits four rules for identifying whether an entity can be considered 'truly' alive. He suggests that for an entity to be considered alive it must:
- Do whatever it takes to survive;
- Having achieved rule one, extend the 'survival boundary';
- When life conditions require it, ignore rule two and focus all resources on achieving rule one;
- At a certain point, switch off rule one
Although this chapter is written specifically for the Death and Anti-Death anthology, these 'rules' also pose additional issues for cognitive scientists and those involved with artificial intelligence.
Other chapters in the book consider cryogenics, the issue of anorexia and euthanasia, technology and more
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Events
Monday 6 July 2009
All places for the one day Advanced Strategic Planning workshop in Adelaide have been taken
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Friday 26 June 2009
As expected, places filled pretty quick for this first workshop in Adelaide, and as of the time of writing, just three places were left for the workshop coming up in July. With another one not scheduled till sometime next year, this would be a great opportunity to ensure that your Strategic Planning efforts deliver the results you want
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Thursday 11 June 2009
The next Advanced Strategic Planning one-day workshop being run by The Australian Strategic Planning Institute will take place at Rydges in Adelaide on the 13th of July and bookings are now open
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