ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the issues that arise in relation to attempts to delay or prevent ageing with special reference to the use of genetic intervention as a means to this goal. It shows that what ageing is, outline different potential methods of controlling ageing, and then proceed to discuss arguments for and against the use of genetic modification to prevent ageing. The arguments for prevention of ageing can be discussed under the following headings: individual autonomy; prevention of suffering; social benefits; social justice; and the view that ageing is a disease. The chapter considers three possibilities: autonomy understood as self-determination; autonomy as a second order capacity to reflect on first order wants; autonomy as the capacity to live an independent life. On a different level the autonomy argument has a third aspect to it, which might be called the capacity to live an independent life, where 'independence' is interpreted in terms of physical independence.
