Immortality

[Erienne]

Hi, I might be back for some reason or not, if it doesn't interfere with my life much...
So, I saw this movie a few days ago, called The Man from Earth. Great movie for people who like philosophy and science fiction, but I digress...

Is it moral if one day we are immortal? Are we meant, like so many machines, to die? If you believe in an afterlife, then maybe. Is it immoral for another reason: one day, if everyone lives forever, there will be overcrowding and overspent resources, no matter how far we expand. Population growth is exponential (Isaac Asimov's Last Question).

 

[CSolarstorm]

I think being immortal would be terrible. Death humbles people, and without a deadline for existing, people would just get cynical, destructively creative, and turn into monsters and ruin the earth.

 

[Erienne]

I think being immortal would be terrible. Death humbles people, and without a deadline for existing, people would just get cynical, destructively creative, and turn into monsters and ruin the earth.

Wait, we aren't already monsters that ruin the Earth, destructively creative, and cynical?

 

[ChronaMew]

A world without death would be even more cynical. With people like Hitler being eternally there, it would only be a matter of time before peoples minds start being corrupted. Hell, look at Charles Manson - He's on Death Row (Or was it changed to life in prison? Forgot the specifics) yet still has a *lot* of followers.

The world would overcrowd itself, "evil" would never die, and "good" would eventually get tainted

 

[Yellow Torterra]

Immortality would just make life boring.

 

[CSolarstorm]

Wait, we aren't already monsters that ruin the Earth, destructively creative, and cynical?

Yes, but we're pretty bad at it still. Stronger we get, the better we get at it. Death offers some redemption. Take that away, and the world would be doomed.

 

[Lorde]

Immortality. Sounds horrible.

I wouldn't want to live forever, it would be so lonely. People dying left and right.

I'd only want immortality if I could pass it on to someone else so we could both be immortal.

 

[ancient pray]

I wonder what it would be like... Somebody shoots you like a 1000 times with a M16 or something and you're still not dead... Kinda dumb you know, having 1000 bullets in your body and still not death, it would scare the crap out of anybody.

 

[dream pray]

immortality should be cool
but what happen if some1 shoot's with a tank?
like seeing your body part's on the floor???P)
and in a world war like killing every1 because of immortality
should be cool!
walking in the city with 1000 bullet's in your body,
fighting someone without having pain

 

[Lorde]

but what happen if some1 shoot's with a tank?

Exactly I was thinking that.

If you're body is blown away, would you still be alive, just in little pieces? Or are we going by Twilight logic?

 

[Upa]

Immortality doesn't include bullets and all. It just bars out the option of dying of old age, disease, or natural death.

 

[Vaporeon4evr]

Fear of death/motivation to survive is perhaps the greatest biological impetus for all action. If you are suddenly capable of living forever, then why bother trying at life?

 

[Dante Falls]

If everyone became immortal, society, ethics and morals would eventually restructure themselves to encompass it. Things would change, but not for better or worse. Humanity would still continue to go on, in some shape or form.

Infact, things may improve. People may start to think in the long run, instead of immediate pleasures. Pollution may decrease, because people would realise that they will have to live with the consequences of their actions, instead of letting future generations deal with their mess.

 

[Lorde]

Immortality doesn't include bullets and all. It just bars out the option of dying of old age, disease, or natural death.

That is why I asked whether or not we were going by Twilight logic.

I wasn't sure, immortality isn't something that is often discussed in real life.

 

[swalot=yes]

Depends on what you mean by immortal. If you mean you don't age, then that would be really bad. People still die, but in horrible ways, like disease and hunger. If everyone was just impervious to harm, then we would end up with one overcrowded planet.

 

[Dante Falls]

Depends on what you mean by immortal. If you mean you don't age, then that would be really bad. People still die, but in horrible ways, like disease and hunger. If everyone was just impervious to harm, then we would end up with one overcrowded planet.

Euthinasia would be made legal to deal with terminal diseases.

Population control like China's One Child policy would probably be enforced worldwide. But on a stricter level. Couples would have to apply and wait for a period of time (for example, 100 years) to have a child. It would probably depend on the rate of deaths due to suicide/euthanasia/accidents/etc in each country/the entire world.

Possibly, something like Logan's Run would occur, where people are mandatorily euthanised after a period of time (such as 300 years, or something). To prevent population from sky-rocketting.

However, if this proved to be the case, then the demand for colonising space/ other planets would increase, allowing it to become more profitable and therefor happen.

 

[ViewtifulJoe]

As Mahatma Gandhi said, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." If you live as though you don't have much time left, you aspire to do more.

Also, life is about your accomplishments. If you do something great, then your work, your actions and your beliefs will live on forever. In Mesopotamian myth, Gilgamesh feared dying and sought after the secret to immortality. However, he learned that by making Mesopotamia great and getting his people to love him, he would live on in that sense.

 

[Erienne]

But what a chance to learn? You would find knowledge of everything! Living millenia, seeing civilizations rise from nothing and collapse into nothing, it would really give you a perspective. What if only you were immortal, not anyone else? What if you and your family were immortal? If you and your family and your close friends? Your lover? What then?

 

[Vaporeon4evr]

But what a chance to learn? You would find knowledge of everything! Living millenia, seeing civilizations rise from nothing and collapse into nothing, it would really give you a perspective. What if only you were immortal, not anyone else? What if you and your family were immortal? If you and your family and your close friends? Your lover? What then?

Well, seeing how I'm religious and believe in eternal life after death, I believe I will be able to watch the Earth after I die a bodily death, and will therefore be able to see everything that happens afterward.

Like someone else posted, a large part of living life comes from fear of death. Basically, the mantra "live today like it was your last" comes to mind. If you know you will never die, then there's no initiative to do anything. You could always just wait, because the pressure of time is removed.

 

[Erienne]

Well, seeing how I'm religious and believe in eternal life after death, I believe I will be able to watch the Earth after I die a bodily death, and will therefore be able to see everything that happens afterward.

Like someone else posted, a large part of living life comes from fear of death. Basically, the mantra "live today like it was your last" comes to mind. If you know you will never die, then there's no initiative to do anything. You could always just wait, because the pressure of time is removed.

What pressure? I, at 14, have no pressure to go to the Taj Mahal because of fear of death. I have no pressure to build a rocket to Mars, nor develop anything. You get pressure from time constraints--if your company needed to design a product in two weeks, why would being immortal affect that?