The paradox of life and death

Human and animal life as well is unpredictable. Death can knock at your door any day any time. As a result, both humans and animals take precautions to avoid death and live longer. So far nobody has found a way of living for ever.

Animals have the natural gift of sensing impending dangers beforehand. For instance, no animals, except a dog confined to its kennel, died during the 2004 tsunami disaster. Their sharp sight and hearing help them to save their lives from predators and dangers.

Unfortunately, man is not gifted with sharp sight or hearing faculty. However, to compensate, nature has given him a brain to think rationally and invent new ways to lengthen his life. As a result, scientists have succeeded in prolonging the human lifespan today to a certain extent. For instance, those who lived in the distant past did not live long. The maximum number of years a man or a woman could live was about 30 to 40 years.

Exercise

One scientific method that has been discovered is that exercise is correlated with longer lifespan. Scientists have found that exercise promoted a diverse array of specific benefits. For instance, an appropriate exercise program enhances cardiovascular fitness reducing one's susceptibility to heart attacks. Physical fitness is also associated with reduced risk for both coronary diseases and hypertension. On the other hand, regular exercise can contribute to the avoidance of obesity, diabetes, respiratory difficulties, arthritis and back-pain.

There is a flip side to this scenario. Those who believe that physical exercise has no impact on longevity quote the case of Jim Fixx. He was a celebrated author who touted the benefits of running. However, he died of a heart attack while out jogging. It is said that people who never exercised nodded their heads knowingly and made comments about exercise having little impact on longevity.

Research indicates that you need not be a dedicated athlete to benefit from exercise. A study by Blair found that even a moderate level of fitness can be achieved by taking a brisk walk each day. Walking and swimming are considered the best exercises that will enable people to enjoy long life.

Prehistoric times

We do not know whether ancient people did exercise to prolong their life. However, their lifestyle provided them with ample opportunities to exercise their bodies. Scientists and philosophers from prehistoric times have died at different ages. For instance, Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 - 212 BC) was a Greek mathematician who lived in Sicily. William Caxton (c. 1422 - 1491) was the man who brought the new art of printing from the Continent into England in the 15th century. Those who love literature and the printed word should pray for him for the invention of the mechanical printing machine. But none of them lived up to 100 years.

Democritus (c. 460 - 370 BC) was one of the longest living philosophers. He is often referred to as the 'Laughing philosopher' for the emphasis he placed on the value of cheerfulness. John Dewy, a pragmatist philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer lived for 93 years. Sextus Empiricus (c. 100 - 200) was a centurian who expounded the philosophy of scepticism, founded by Pyrrho around the third century BC. Willard Van Orman Quine (1908 - 2002) who lived for 94 years, did not shy away from the conclusion that ontology, the study of what there is, is relative to the background theory.

Cultural posits

According to him, physical objects and gods differ only in degree and not in kind. Both sorts of entities enter our conceptions only as cultural posits. Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) too lived for 98 years. He was a radical liberal and a committed campaigner for nuclear disarmament. He also won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

This account shows the gradual increase in man's longevity. At the early stage, most of the well-known men died in their 60s and 70s. However, in the 20th century the death of eminent people occurred when they were in their 80s and 90s. To live up to 100 is a great achievement even in the 21st century.

We have our own eminent men who are now in their 80s and 90s. For instance, Kalakeerthi Edwin Ariyadasa celebrated his 89th birthday on December 3. There is hardly anyone who has not heard of him. He is one of the hard-to-find bilingual journalists who still writes to newspapers and magazines on a regular basis. He is also equally popular as a radio and television personality who is aware of modern trends in communication and international affairs.

Versatility

The knowledge he possesses on such matters is enormous. His versatility in English and Sinhala has made him a much sought after writer. He has worked as the editor of Navayugaya and feature writer of The Daily News and the Sunday Observer.

It is said that a philosopher is not recognised in his own village. Except for a few titles conferred on him by the government, no university, now there are dime a dozen, has thought it fit to confer on him an honorary doctorate to acknowledge his services.

O tempora, O mores!