ESSAY QUESTION:
The following appeared in a trade publication for the insurance industry:
"Each generation of Americans has lived longer that the ones preceding it, as the national life expectancy has approached 80 years old in recent years. The progress of medical technology shows no sign of abating. Therefore, we can confidently predict that most children born in America in the next decade will live past the age of ninety."
YOUR RESPONSE:
The argument states that there have been huge advances in medical technology in recent years and this has led to a massive increase in the national life expectancy.The argument goes on to predict that life expectancy will touch a high of ninety years in America in the next decade.I don't completely agree with the argument as it fails to address all possible causes that might lead to such an increase in the national life expectancy.
First,though the argument states that medical technology is state-of-the-art now,it fails to take into account the number of people who can afford to avail the plethora of medical facilities offered.If there is only a handful of people who can be benefitted by new medical innovations and improvisations,the argument fails to hold any good.What good is a technology that can't be used by all.The rising costs of medical insurance means that only the affluent can afford it.The unemployed and poor cannot buy more years of life for themselves as these great medical technologies come at a huge price.
Second,other factors that would pull the life expectancy figures down are not looked at.America is the most obese nation and the number of obese people have been steadily increasing.The incidence of stress related diseases have also been on the rise.Medical technology has improved undoubtedly but we still have a long way to go till a cure for every possible ailment can be found.The technological prowess and new,world-class medical procedures can increase the average life expectancy but only to a certain extent.Predicting that most children born in America in the next decade will live past the age of ninety,is a very ambitious claim in my opinion.
The argument looks sedate at first glance but is definitely flawed as it fails to give the statistics of how many people can be benefitted by the advances in the field of medicine.It does not consider other factors which might hinder the ambitious goal of national life expectancy of ninety years by next decade.If the argument can provide answers to these questions,it can be a well reasoned and logically sound argument.
The following appeared in a trade publication for the insurance industry:
"Each generation of Americans has lived longer that the ones preceding it, as the national life expectancy has approached 80 years old in recent years. The progress of medical technology shows no sign of abating. Therefore, we can confidently predict that most children born in America in the next decade will live past the age of ninety."
YOUR RESPONSE:
The argument states that there have been huge advances in medical technology in recent years and this has led to a massive increase in the national life expectancy.The argument goes on to predict that life expectancy will touch a high of ninety years in America in the next decade.I don't completely agree with the argument as it fails to address all possible causes that might lead to such an increase in the national life expectancy.
First,though the argument states that medical technology is state-of-the-art now,it fails to take into account the number of people who can afford to avail the plethora of medical facilities offered.If there is only a handful of people who can be benefitted by new medical innovations and improvisations,the argument fails to hold any good.What good is a technology that can't be used by all.The rising costs of medical insurance means that only the affluent can afford it.The unemployed and poor cannot buy more years of life for themselves as these great medical technologies come at a huge price.
Second,other factors that would pull the life expectancy figures down are not looked at.America is the most obese nation and the number of obese people have been steadily increasing.The incidence of stress related diseases have also been on the rise.Medical technology has improved undoubtedly but we still have a long way to go till a cure for every possible ailment can be found.The technological prowess and new,world-class medical procedures can increase the average life expectancy but only to a certain extent.Predicting that most children born in America in the next decade will live past the age of ninety,is a very ambitious claim in my opinion.
The argument looks sedate at first glance but is definitely flawed as it fails to give the statistics of how many people can be benefitted by the advances in the field of medicine.It does not consider other factors which might hinder the ambitious goal of national life expectancy of ninety years by next decade.If the argument can provide answers to these questions,it can be a well reasoned and logically sound argument.
