Den yttersta preventionen

Synen på vetenskap, åldrande och odödlighet i David Sinclair och Matthew LaPlantes "Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have to"

Abstract

Popular science books help shape cultural and societal notions of science. In this article, I analyze the ways in which a popular science book – Lifespan (2019) by David Sinclair and Matthew LaPlante – constructs the science of aging and argues for the possibility, and desirability, of preventing death. In particular, I analyze imagery and narratives in Lifespan and show that there is a tension between the two: the main analogies construct science as something banal, while the main narrative (rags-to-riches) presents science as something extraordinary and spectacular. In the conclusion, I discuss this tension and argue that it is not incidental: constructing science as banal aims to convince the reader that seemingly controversial statements are true, while constructing science as spectacular aims to excite the reader about the possibilities of science.