I follow biotech news pretty closely, and it seems that the mechanisms for aging and, ultimately, death are becoming more and more understood. I am hearing about longevity breakthroughs almost every month (in animal trials), and the prospects of at least living healthy to an advanced age are becoming more realistic. 10 years ago, I read a book that suggested immortality was an achievable goal, and that death was not an inevitable consequence of life. Back then, this concept was absolutely outrageous, and the author was ruthlessly attacked for promoting pseudoscience. But the science of aging is now close to being mainstream, and I hear speculation about humanity's eventual immortality quite often. It has even begun appearing in movies and science fiction literature as a norm of the far-future life. I, as a complete naturalist, am pretty confident that practical immortality will be achieved within, at most, a hundred years.
My question is, how would you feel about such a development? I would like you to forget about the obvious ramifications of immortality (overpopulation, crippling social change mechanisms, deeply disturbing understood economic paradigms, and so on) Imagine that those issues were overcome, and you can live your life more or less as you do now (family, work, study, travel, entertainment, etc). How would that affect your life? How would it change your views? Would you like it? Would you choose a different path in life? Would you reject it and opt for a normal life span?
When I pose this question to science oriented people, I typically get cautiously optimistic reactions. But I would like see the reaction of more mixed group of people. And please give this question some thought as how it would affect you. Not just a rushed "life has no meaning without death" impulse.
P.S. In this scenario, you have the choice of being fully immortal. That means you can't even die in an accident. Your brain contents are backed up every hour or so on a remote server, and the worst that can happen is losing an hour of continuity. Meaning, you can be perfectly reconstituted with your memory, consciousness, and personality fully intact.
My question is, how would you feel about such a development? I would like you to forget about the obvious ramifications of immortality (overpopulation, crippling social change mechanisms, deeply disturbing understood economic paradigms, and so on) Imagine that those issues were overcome, and you can live your life more or less as you do now (family, work, study, travel, entertainment, etc). How would that affect your life? How would it change your views? Would you like it? Would you choose a different path in life? Would you reject it and opt for a normal life span?
When I pose this question to science oriented people, I typically get cautiously optimistic reactions. But I would like see the reaction of more mixed group of people. And please give this question some thought as how it would affect you. Not just a rushed "life has no meaning without death" impulse.
P.S. In this scenario, you have the choice of being fully immortal. That means you can't even die in an accident. Your brain contents are backed up every hour or so on a remote server, and the worst that can happen is losing an hour of continuity. Meaning, you can be perfectly reconstituted with your memory, consciousness, and personality fully intact.
