A Multidimensional Study on the Social Effects and Ethical Dilemmas of Extending Human Lifespan to 200 Years
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: With the rapid advancement of anti-aging medicine, life sciences, and biotechnology, the upper limit of human lifespan continues to increase. The prospect of an average lifespan of 200 years is no longer a mere science fiction hypothesis but a potential developmental trend in future human society. Traditional social institutions, life trajectories, and value systems have all been constructed on the basis of a century-long lifespan. When the human lifespan is doubled, individual life courses, intergenerational relationships, social operational rules, and civilizational value perceptions would face systematic reconstruction. Grounded in sociological, ethical, and demographic theories, this paper systematically explores the positive transformations and potential crises brought about by the extension of human lifespan to 200 years from four dimensions: individual development, social structure, civilizational cognition, and ethical dilemmas. The study provides an in-depth analysis of the profound impacts of ultra-long lifespan on education systems, employment patterns, pension systems, population resources, and social stratification. It identifies core issues such as intergenerational fragmentation, class solidification, mental internal friction (i.e., chronic psychological burnout and mental strain), and technological inequality, and proposes corresponding adaptive pathways for civilizational adaptation and social governance. The research indicates that ultra-long lifespan represents a double-edged transformation driven by technological progress. The core challenge lies not merely in achieving lifespan extension, but in the systematic adaptation and upgrading of social institutions, ethical concepts, and value perceptions. This paper aims to provide theoretical references for the benign development of future long-lived societies.
Authors: Biyas, Anisu, Liu, Hongsheng
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7203940200