Introduction

In this chapter I compare and contrast the ancient quest for longevity through the search for an elixir of life with the growth of modern medical technologies that may assist the contemporary quest for longevity. The linking theme in this comparison is the centrality of technology to human culture. By ‘technology’ I mean not only machinery and equipment, but, more importantly, the techniques by which societies discipline the body with the aim of controlling either health or moral behaviour. These techniques of behaviour we can call, following Michel Foucault, ‘the technologies of the self’. Perhaps the key issue in this chapter is that, in thinking about old age and longevity, most societies have seen health and morality as being intimately connected. Hence, the technologies of the self typically seek to prolong life through promoting good health and at the same time embracing the notion that good health and longevity are consequences of moral probity. In short, most religious traditions have regarded longevity as the beneficial mark of a moral life. Perhaps the real break, therefore, between past generations and modern society is that our guides to good health have broken, or at least weakened, the link between moral behaviour and longevity.