Prominent Bio-Ethicist Defends Cosmetic Surgery
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
Bio-Ethicist Art Caplan gave a lecture last summer at the Chautauqua Institution of New York, and the topic had some interesting implications for the cosmetic surgery industry and anti-aging overall.
Early in his lecture, Caplan recalled a story about a woman who had been criticized for receiving a facelift. A much younger counterpart said of her, “that’s terrible, you should simply accept the changes [of aging] as they come.” The example served to help Caplan characterize this attitude as one being overly “puritanical.”
In his philosophical argument, Caplan presents many reasons why we should use medical technology and pursue new discoveries in the science of stem cells. With adequate funding and a more informed public, it is possible for us to achieve methods of whole-body anti aging, through the regenerative capabilities of stem cells.
The lecture can be found here on Minnesota Public Radio.
