X-Message-Number: 360
From att!cup.portal.com!alcor Sat Jun 22 14:19:38 PDT 1991
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Subject: Philosophy, Technology, and Death
Date: Sat, 22 Jun 91 14:19:38 PDT
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X-Origin: The Portal System (TM)

PHILOSOPHY AND THE PROBLEM OF MR. BRANDEN'S DEATH

     Re messages #352, 354, 355, 356, 359, I find Branden's point of view 
disappointing, but not particularly remarkable.

     From the earliest known musings of philosopy, the question of the 
existence of death has been particularly intractable.  Why should Man, the 
self-aware Lord of Creation under the gods, be subjected to eternal 
oblivion; and particularly, why should the individual philosopher (who 
would be king) suffer this fate?  (Any philosopher worth his salt makes 
his way in the world by spitting into the wind, so the possession of an 
ego of some proportions is entirely understandable.)

     Whatever logical contortions they may put themselves through, the 
honest ones have come to understand that their lot is one with the beasts 
and insects; so they elevate death to the status of an axiom and make 
their peace.  A most bitter peace, withall, but one gets that sort of 
thing in the quest for the truth.

     So here come the immortalists, and particularly, the cryonicists.  We 
are the technologists, the dirty-fingernailed artisans, without a thought 
for the thoughts of these great men.  (One is invariably reminded at this 
point of the comment that, "A civilization that exults philosophy, because 
it is an intellectual profession, and denegrates plumbing, because it is a 
dirty, manual THING, will soon find itself in trouble, as neither its 
philosophy nor its pipes will hold water.")  And what do we do with this 
philosophically intractable problem of death?  

     WE CREATE A TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTION!, of course.  So much for the 
musings of philosophers.

     And then there's the emotional aspect; a philosopher's thoughts are 
more dear to him than his children; they ARE his children!  And to these 
parents, their children, immaculately conceived and carefully nurtured in 
their minds, can do no wrong.

     So it's entirely understandable that philosophers in general, and Mr. 
Branden in particular, should have some trouble with us.  They have 
created a room in their house for Death, and carefully furnished it and 
arranged it, and closed the door and locked it.  But it's always there, and 
they know with bitter certainty that someday they will pass through that 
door, and not come out.  And we go clomping through the house in our muddy 
boots, and pop the expensive lock off the door with a crowbar, and look in 
this room, and we turn to the philosopher and we say, "So where's your 
problem?"  And they get the idea that we may be snickering up our sleeves 
at them, and that we will never, never understand the GRAVITY of their 
thoughts on this thing.  So it's understandable that they may be a bit 
upset and defensive and backwards with our cavalier solution to their 
personal Gordian Knot.

     I suppose they're right; we DO snicker a bit.  But in the end, death 
is the common enemy of all of us, and though we have set ourselves on the 
path of Choice, that even those dearest or most valuable to us may choose 
death of their own free will, we know that each and every death diminishes 
us.  And!  We!  Don't!  Like!  It!

     So have some sympathy for Mr. Branden; he's trying to deal with what 
has classically been an intractable problem the best he or anybody else 
knew how before Robert Ettinger, whom he's probably never heard of.

     But don't let him get in your way!  The important thing is to be able 
to say, in the year 2991, "I once met Nathaniel Branden."  If he isn't 
available to agree with you, HE didn't solve the problem.


TO LIFE!
Hugh Hixon at 

(Who does cryonics, and plumbing, and philosophy, and thinks Life makes a 
GREAT axiom, and always has a wrench handy, because sooner or later, it's 
all gonna' leak a bit!)

P.S. -- If you wish to get his attention, you might try suggesting that 
a thousand years from now, the only living memory of him will be your's, 
having this conversation, and What Does He Think Of That?  (Wrenches And 
Other Tools Available for most occasions -- HH)

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