Whence comes death? How natural selection has fashioned aging and death; why "natural" isn't the last word in healthy foods and lifestyles; and some observations on objective science pursued by subjective humans.

From: The Humanist | Date: January 1, 2002| Author: | Copyright information

One doesn't have to entertain faith in an omnipotent deity to seek comfort from the idea that nature is benevolent. The notion that our bodies are programmed to self-destruct with age is profoundly unsettling to many. As we recognize that all creatures fall victim to decrepitude and death, we imagine our human fate to derive from some immutable physical law to which our bodies eventually succumb despite all efforts to keep us strong and healthy.

But aging is no physical necessity, nor is it an accident; it is a part of life's developmental program, following birth, growth, ...

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