X-Message-Number: 1144
Date: 14 Aug 92 13:02:24 EDT
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: CRYONICS
 
Re Obligations to Loved Ones in Suspension:
 
I am extremely interested by Paul Wakfer's comment that 
emotional/sexual bonding is symptomatic of insufficiently 
developed sense of self. Paul is (seemingly) one of the most 
self-sufficient people I have ever met, and I admire his 
ability not to need romantic entanglements. 
 
And yet--as a human being, I find it easier and more pleasant 
to acquiesce to the animal needs (weaknesses?) of the human 
spirit. Romance has greatly enriched my life, over the years. 
At the same time, of course, romance has great potential to 
cause pain. That's what I was getting at when I said that 
cryonics could worsen the state of having lost one's mate. 
The pain of loss when someone dies conventionally should 
diminish more rapidly than if that person is in cryonic 
suspension. The hope of being reunited in the future is worth 
a lot, but it is not a guarantee. In the meantime, one has to 
live in the present. 
 
As for *imposing* sexual fidelity--Paul misunderstands my 
point. Someone who is monogamous by choice might feel a 
lingering *desire* to be "faithful" to the suspended spouse, 
without this being imposed in any way. I imagine that if my 
wife were in suspension, and I believed there was a good 
chance of her being revived some day, it would make me feel 
uneasy to start seeing someone new. I'm sure that this would 
diminish with time--but again, it would not diminish as fast 
as it would if my spouse had died conventionally. 

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