“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow,” we look forward to every tomorrow.

Even though the world is in a sorry state grappling with war, fear, destruction, eradication and annihilation, we cling to every breath of life.

This is not man’s finest hour. Our worst global crises since WWII have the Middle East region on fire as Israel continues to dominate the Western powers. Russia and Ukraine proceed with their killing and maiming as usual. The restriction of oil reserves has caused a severe economic crisis universally, due to the mismanaged US administration.

Governments are toppling worldwide, especially the US. Chaos and confusion pervade in every corner of the globe. With such turmoil and tumult, does anyone wish to die because of it? Never.

Despite the uncontrolled lawlessness, we persist. Through thick and thin we pull up our sleeves, push through the maze and the cobwebs, and come up on top — alive.

We hate the world we live in, but not enough.

The human race is resilient. Man has a strong desire to live. In fact we desire to live forever, if we could. “It has always been part of the human spirit, to live a long, long life” says Paul Root Wolpe, director of the Emory Centre for Ethics. “The thing that is difficult and inscrutable to us human beings is the fact of our own death.”

Death is a mystery. “We do not understand it. As meaning-laden beings we cannot fathom what it means to not exist.” Death is an unknown entity. We dislike the unknown; always gazing and gawking at the dark future, hoping a long life is in our cards.

As luck would have it, science is on our side. In the past century, medicine has extended life expectancy and longevity and new researchers are pushing for a life that lasts two decades more. Geriatrics was established as a new branch of medicine to deal with the healthcare of the old.

The word “geriatrics” was created by Austrian gerontologist Dr. Ignatz Nascher in 1909, but the field of science was claimed by Marjory Warren in London, 1935. However, from the time of Hippocrates (460-375 BC) there has been an interest in the prolongation of man’s lifespan, his maintenance of health and related disease patterns. Aristotle (384-322 BC) expounded on the ideas, proposing that the heart spreads an infinite amount of heat that was gradually assumed over time, so that little remained in old age.

Since the classical era, interest in old age has been disregarded until the second part of the 20th century.

The UN projects that by the end of the century, life expectancy will be higher than 90.

Why do human beings want to live? The disgruntled or saddened play the tune of displeasure and discontent, while repeating their death wish refrain. Do not believe it. They check their condition at the nearest doctor for every ache and pain.

According to researchers at Columbia University, School of Public Health, about one in six young or middle-aged Americans prefer to die before age 80. Even that “one” is suspected. Most are liable to have a change of heart. The fear of death is stronger than the fear of old age.

It is indeed best to live well than not just to live, but in both cases, most would opt for life and experience, many more summers, and cozy warm winters.

One good reason to live longer is love. Love is extremely powerful, a gravitational force, weaker than other forces of nature. There are different kinds of love all strong and unconditional. In most cases love needs reciprocity. We need affection and validation. “It’s just to love and be loved in return.”

Our dear ones, our immediate family, tug at our heartstrings every moment. It is our duty to watch over their welfare, hope and pray for the safety and happiness. Should we not wish to live as long as possible for them, through childhood to adulthood?

The height of man’s curiosity lies in the unknown. Apart from learning, travelling among other ventures, we wish to witness the future, we redeem ourselves of youth’s follies, to live a little longer — for one more folly.

“No one dies of old age,” said British pathologist William Boyd (1885-1979): “We die of disease”. How do we dispense with disease? Yes, we wish to live longer, but strong and healthy, not frail and sickly.

Ageing occurs when cells are permanently damaged by continual attacks from particles called “free radicals”. Yet, some scientists argue that there is no such word as “ageing”.

 In 1947, two epidemiologists, Sir Richard Doll and Sir Richard Peto, famous for the “Doll-Peto” causes of cancer, argued that ageing is not a biological phenomenon, but rather a number of individual disease processes that result in what they prefer to use “senescence”.

Senescence is the condition of deterioration with age — a process by which a cell ages and permanently stops dividing but does not die. Does that mean that if we stay healthy we do not die? In which case, staying healthy should be our preference, come what may.

In each of us dwells the wherewithal to resist age — at least, disease. Health guru Deepak Chopra believes: “Without negative influences from within or without, our tissue organs could last 115-130 years, before sheer age could cause them to stop functioning.”

To live, how do we avoid war and disease?

“There is no cure for birth or death save to enjoy the interval.”

               George Santayana (1863-1950)

* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 November, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.