X-Message-Number: 32254
From: David Stodolsky <>
Subject: Re: social identity and well being
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:42:39 +0100
References: <>

On 23 Dec 2009, at 11:00 AM, CryoNet wrote:

> I have, without any justification
> what-so-ever, thought that those of us with very strong and well  
> integrated
> ego's might be able to hold our sense of self in these conditions  
> and get on
> with the task of learning how to adapt to our new and novel  
> circumstances.
> This might not be the case, as the article referenced by David,
> http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121596786/abstract, would  
> seem to
> suggest. If we are  likely to not be able to find a sense of well- 
> being, and
> perhaps not able to create the ego strength to undergo the rigors of  
> the new
> tasks in front of us, we  may not fully come to our selves. It may  
> be that
> we are well advised to bring along as many memento's of past community
> connections as we can via pics, sound files, video clips, etc. to  
> assist our
> re-integration into the new communities in which we find ourselves.


The main point of social identity theory is that individual identity  
is a result of a group processes, to a large extent. The idea of the  
unitary self has serious limitations. For example:

In "Extending the Human Life Span: An Exploratory Study of Pro- and  
Anti-Longevity Attitudes" Kogan et al. (in review; 9) concluded:

Benefits from life extension are believed to extend across the  
individual, interpersonal and societal levels. At the individual  
level, longevity is presumed to allow more time to achieve goals. At  
the interpersonal level, the long-term quality of relationships would  
presumably improve. At the societal level, greater wisdom and prestige  
accorded older people are presumed likely to ensue from enhanced  
longevity.


The kinds of memory support mentioned could be helpful, but they don't  
address the real needs of maintaining the interpersonal self. For  
this, you need continuing social relationships. This is one reason  
that Badger (1998) found that alienation from family and friends was  
identified as an issue in choosing cryonics.

In Ethical, social, and personal implications of extended human  
lifespan identified by members of the public (Rejuvenation Research;  
12:351-7.) Partridge et al. (2009c; 356) concluded, "The most often- 
cited potential downsides included the possibility of . out-living  
family and friends, thereby reflecting the same themes of ... family  
as the most important benefits.


These considerations are the basis for my conclusion that the cryonics  
movement should develop a marketing approach that facilitates the  
enrollment of groups of people, as a unit, in suspension programs.

In the issue of Applied Psychology "Social Identity, Health and Well- 
Being" the main thrust is on how social relationships are crucial to  
health and longevity. Therefore, an approach of enrolling groups also  
has the effect of keeping people alive longer. If we compare countries  
with the best and worse social conditions, we find that there is three  
times greater life-span in the best countries. There are real  
longevity gains to be achieved through a social strategy for life- 
extension.



dss



PS: These are complex issues and just reading an abstract or a  
quotation doesn't give much of an understanding, unless you are  
already familiar with the field.



David Stodolsky
  Skype: davidstodolsky

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