X-Message-Number: 19406
References: <>
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 11:47:33 +0200
From: David Stodolsky <>
Subject:  Re: Attitude Quiz

At 9:00 AM +0000 2002-07-05, Scott Badger wrote:
>cloning. This is precisely because cloning has been
>demonstrated to work and cryonics has not.

After giving this presentation and answering questions:

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Existential foundations of culture: New prospects.
Greater Copenhagen MA & MS Network.
Frederiksberg, Denmark.
November 2000

Awareness of the inevitability of death in an animal programmed for
self-preservation created the potential for paralyzing terror.
According to existential psychology, the human species created
culture, a system of meanings that overlays the natural world and
elevates humans to a higher plane of existence, to control this
terror. Cultural worldviews reduce anxiety by conceiving a universe
with order and meaning, by providing standards of value derived from
that conception, and by promising protection and/or death
transcendence to those who meet those standards.

Worldviews are based upon the physical capabilities of the societies
which create them. Developing life-extension technologies, such as
cloning, suspended animation, and nanotechnology offer new options
for protection and death transcendence. New information technologies,
including personal computers and wireless networking, permit enhanced
protection from infection and genetic disease. They also permit
greatly enhanced freedom and security in personal and social
relationships. We consider the possibilities that these technologies
offer for a new cultural system.
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I asked the group, people in their 30's primarily, "If you could take a
pill once a week that would halt the ageing process, so you could stay
health and young indefinitely, would you do it?"

Only 1 person out of 30 raised her hand.


dss

-- 
David S. Stodolsky, PhD    PGP: 0x35490763    

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