Death reigns eternally as the greatest conqueror in existence, slaying all mortal creatures inevitably; apart from a few species of jellyfish. However, some have sought to overthrow this tyrant instead of submit to it. Thus, the notion of athanasia, the state of being unaffected by death, has been pondered by many, and continues today as philosophy and technology evolve.
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines immortality as, “the indefinite continuation of a person’s existence, even after death.” The concept of eternal life can be simplified into two categories: immortality of the body and immortality of the mind. Immortality of the body refers to the idea that a human body could continue to function endlessly. Immortality of the mind, on the other hand, suggests that a living being has two main ingredients: a corporeal body and an incorporeal soul or consciousness. This means that, though one’s physical form may be felled by its mortality, the soul lingers, though possibly on another plane of existence.
Both of these forms of death evasion could potentially be enabled by technology. An example of hypothetical, technology-aided prevention of death would be cryonics, the freezing of a living organism, which may be one way that a human body could be kept past its natural expiration date. This method would allow individuals in today’s world with incurable ailments to keep their bodies in working condition so that when science improves to be able to help them, they can be unfrozen. The Cryonics Institute offers such a service, as well as more information about the process. Uploading one’s consciousness onto a network has been proposed as well. This method would enable individuals to preserve their memories as well as their minds after their body fails.The details surrounding exactly how any one method would work gets a bit ambiguous, as the subject matter can be considered highly controversial.
The discussion of potential continuation of life tends to gravitate towards the discussion regarding reincarnation, as both seek to disprove the supposed inevitability of death. Reincarnation proposes the idea that the dead can be brought back to life. A few theories relating to this matter exist currently, most topically being the concept of Dyson spheres. While it sounds like something out of Star Trek or Star Wars, the proposition of Dyson spheres postulates that an energy-absorbing frame constructed around a star could provide enough power to sustain the transference of a being’s mind to another vessel. Named for its theorizer Freeman Dyson, not the household appliance company, it has been a subject of recent consideration. It could be “the ultimate solution for living space and energy production,” as said in an article by Space, because a Dyson sphere would be capable of “providing its creators ample surface area for habitation and the ability to capture every bit of solar radiation emanating from their central star.”
As the controversies currently stand, no conclusive answer can be given to any question about immortality or reincarnation. That leaves the fate of such concepts up for plenty of speculation. The new end-of-life care could be stuffing the elderly into giant refrigerators or hooking their brains up to a TV with a more sophisticated HDMI cable. Or, perhaps Earth’s next dominant species will be the immortal jellyfish.
Comments