Would we want to live forever?

@alcaz0r,

alcaz0r;83339 wrote:

This makes me consider all the events that will happen after my death as being compressed into concurrency, resulting in the idea that my death will be concurrent with the end of the universe and time itself.

I find this comforting.

I imagine that too, but I think it doesnt stops there, as the universe came to be from nothing once, it will, logically, happen again, and if our mind is a vital part of it, that means we will "reincarnate" in this new universe.

Serena;83390 wrote:

Although it would be interesting to see how civilization grows, there are a number of reasons why death was meant to happen. The world would become excessively populated and the basic necessities would be depleted. The amelioration of medical science and technology seems to endorse the idea of immortality which is sort of getting ridiculous. The short amount of time we embrace should motivate us to be more contributing for the preparation of future generations. The life of the planet itself would perish before its children due to the greed of longevity.

Well, as far as I know besides immortality science also promises fantastical new forms of adquiring resources and etc =)

Also, we could always breed slower/stop breeding.

The Jester;83419 wrote:

If we live forever: with passing ages our body gets older and older, I am not willing to behold what a walking/rotting man I would be for a thousand years; even with endless joy. That said, if I could, I'd for sure be drunk 24/7 because of boredom; now, because I'm going to die someday I'm getting drunk anyway - no just joking - (but the feeling is good.). But then if there's endless joy there is no boredom... hmmm, no anyway, I want to see how's death, dying: and no, I still am in no hurry for it.

You wont manage to live forever even if you get an immortal body or something, the sun will set off in 5 billion years for example, and its said that the whole universe and the very matter is bound to collapse eventually =)

Shinhyung;83435 wrote:

When I've done everything I feel I need to do and am happy with the life I'd lived, then I'll go and die.

Will you ever fell this kind of epic satisfaction? =)

@manored,

manored;83451 wrote:

Will you ever fell this kind of epic satisfaction? =)

I'm not sure actually, now that I've been asked. I think I'd need experience to be able to tell whether I will be forever wanting more life to do more things or feel satisfaction one day.

@glasstrees,

I must ask if the gift of immortality affects merely natural aging, or heal all physical wounds in the process? If the ability to take no damage were to be bestowed upon us we would exploit it to the worst degree. We would no longer live in fear or physical consequence. We would most likely degrade back into an archaic living style, rather than progressing through time. However if it's natural aging we would maintain that sense of vulnerability, we could have more time for our individual knowledge to grow, to become more integrity rich through life lessons. Warlords and those who create enemies generally have attacks placed on them regularly, shortening their chance at an eternal lifespan.

Although... without another refuge available, our population would eventually be the end of us unless breeding was maintained regularly.

@Oribe,

Oribe;87273 wrote:

I must ask if the gift of immortality affects merely natural aging, or heal all physical wounds in the process? If the ability to take no damage were to be bestowed upon us we would exploit it to the worst degree. We would no longer live in fear or physical consequence. We would most likely degrade back into an archaic living style, rather than progressing through time.

I agree, but I think we would eventually (very eventually) get bored of simplicity and start seeking knowledge again.

@Imnotrussian,

I feel that life everlasting would be an astonishing, and more importantly, infinitely important feat. Think about it...we are all two minds alike in alot of ways, currently asking 'What does it all mean'. For me, the fact that we are asking this, the fact that existence is conscious...why not infinitely more, rather than inexistence of any? I would rather be a conscious entity for eternity than to simply

@glasstrees,

dwixi;72159 wrote:

Would we as humans want to live forever? Even if we made the world perfect? Even if we got to the state of life being one giant orgasm of joy and love.

Personally I dont think so.

This would get boreing. And we would create games like this. Like life. With not quite perfectness. But a playing feild for beauty. And we would need death to kill our ego and start again. This way we will never get bored. This way there would be a reason for something to exist rather than nothing existing atall.

Are there any philosophers that have a similar view to this? basicly Buddhism but the goal not being to transition the ego but it having a purpose. Limiting us so we don't get bored. And always see beauty.

I think I would want to live forever. If I just don't age but am still mortal it wouldn't mean much. But if I also couldn't be killed by car crashes, etc. it sounds like fun.

@glasstrees,

Don't really know.

@glasstrees,

dwixi;72159 wrote:

Would we as humans want to live forever? Even if we made the world perfect? Even if we got to the state of life being one giant orgasm of joy and love.

Personally I dont think so.

This would get boreing. And we would create games like this. Like life. With not quite perfectness. But a playing feild for beauty. And we would need death to kill our ego and start again. This way we will never get bored. This way there would be a reason for something to exist rather than nothing existing atall.

Are there any philosophers that have a similar view to this? basicly Buddhism but the goal not being to transition the ego but it having a purpose. Limiting us so we don't get bored. And always see beauty.

I think I would enjoy immortality.
There are a myriad of things I wish to learn and do that would most definitely take at least a few lifetimes if I didn't rush them.
Not to mention that I love watching technology advance. It's very interesting to me. It's like evolution, but faster and thus more exciting.
If human civilization continues to develop, expand, and advance perpetually there would be no end to the fun. If I did get bored with life on Earth, space travel could be a very real option for me in the future if technology continuously advances. Maybe even colonizing other planets eventually.
If human civilization is destroyed or something there's always nature, and possibly the chance for me to be the one to restart civilization. Especially if I was the only immortal, I could restart civilization and be its promary manipulator. :whistling:

However, the human race as a whole, I don't think would be better off with immortality. At least not the eternal life part of it. Maybe invulnerability, but not eternal life.
As I'm sure others have mentioned, the population would be a big issue as long as we're staying confined to Earth. Boredom would also be an issue for a lot of people. And with so many people bored who know what might happen.

@glasstrees,

Living forever, i dont think is something that everyone would love because we have forever to do something... A flower is beautiful because it blooms and dies, our memories remember what a bloom looks like and will cherish that moment. Like human life, would you cherish your life if you were to live forever?
similarly to a flower that bloomed forever, is it beautiful anymore?
Life and death is the core of our existance....

@Thaddeus,

Thaddeus;89355 wrote:

Living forever, i dont think is something that everyone would love because we have forever to do something... A flower is beautiful because it blooms and dies, our memories remember what a bloom looks like and will cherish that moment. Like human life, would you cherish your life if you were to live forever?
similarly to a flower that bloomed forever, is it beautiful anymore?
Life and death is the core of our existance....

Personally, I would cherish my life more if I knew it wouldn't end.
Obviously I wouldn't be as protective of it since there would be no need to be, but I would love it more.
Though now I have to wonder if the human brain can hold as much information as would be processed and stored for eternity. O_O
I think we'd probably end up forgetting most of it, most of us can hardly remember our single lifetimes well by the end of them.

@Belial phil,

Belial;89307 wrote:

As I'm sure others have mentioned, the population would be a big issue as long as we're staying confined to Earth. Boredom would also be an issue for a lot of people. And with so many people bored who know what might happen.

Well then we have too many people, we wage wars, and then we are bored, we play with each other, so...

War for fun? =)

Would be fun seeing immortal people battling each other with net lauching things.

Thaddeus;89355 wrote:

Living forever, i dont think is something that everyone would love because we have forever to do something... A flower is beautiful because it blooms and dies, our memories remember what a bloom looks like and will cherish that moment. Like human life, would you cherish your life if you were to live forever?
similarly to a flower that bloomed forever, is it beautiful anymore?
Life and death is the core of our existance....

A immortal flower is beautiful for those who had never seen it before. Similarly, if we are immortal, we will still apreciate things we have never seen before.

Belial;89411 wrote:

Though now I have to wonder if the human brain can hold as much information as would be processed and stored for eternity. O_O
I think we'd probably end up forgetting most of it, most of us can hardly remember our single lifetimes well by the end of them.

Well to actually have immortal life we would have to be modified in some way, either by ourselves or some divine force, and in either case we could get infinite brains as a bonus =)

The idea of having an eletronic brain that constantly rebuilds itself as to have more space sounds interesting.

@Thaddeus,

Thaddeus;89355 wrote:

A flower is beautiful because it blooms and dies

Not to me.
I, for one, don't find all flowers beautiful.
And the ones I do find to be beautiful I think are beautiful simply because of the way they look, usually after having bloomed.

@glasstrees,

Ponder this: If at any time you cease to exist, what was the point of your prior existence? If not even consciousness remains, which it couldn't as defined by inexistence, what is the point of being if only to be destined to not be? I know one thing for sure; my existence, or rather conscious understanding, knows more good than bad, more joy than pain, more excitement than terror...how could I possibly want to not live forever, given the choice, than the contrary, fading into nonbeing? Something will always be better than nothing, for with nothing, condition doesn't exist, and what could be more fearsome.

@FireAndYce,

FireAndYce;94287 wrote:

Ponder this: If at any time you cease to exist, what was the point of your prior existence? If not even consciousness remains, which it couldn't as defined by inexistence, what is the point of being if only to be destined to not be? I know one thing for sure; my existence, or rather conscious understanding, knows more good than bad, more joy than pain, more excitement than terror...how could I possibly want to not live forever, given the choice, than the contrary, fading into nonbeing? Something will always be better than nothing, for with nothing, condition doesn't exist, and what could be more fearsome.

I agree.

I dont think its possible for conscience to vanish forever though, I feel it would be like a computer deleting his own operational system while using it to delete its own operational system.

@manored,

manored;94290 wrote:

I agree.

I dont think its possible for conscience to vanish forever though, I feel it would be like a computer deleting his own operational system while using it to delete its own operational system.

Actually you can delete the operating system using the operating system. The only difference is, if you are talking about windows there is a fail safe to prevent it. However; in the past, early versions of windows you could delete it from within the program.

I think of death more like a battery that has run out of charge. As long as the battery isn't damaged too much, you should technically be able to recharge it since the body is nothing but biochemical reactions.

@glasstrees,

I think that, sadly, there is no way to know for sure. Limits of conscious reality could be defined by conscious existence(one could see how easily this scenario could be infinely amazing for existence and, equally possible, potentially deadly) just as easily as consciousness could be based souly on biochemical limits of the human body....we simply cannot know.

@glasstrees,

If we wouldn't/couldn't die, would we really live?

@Krumple,

Krumple;94294 wrote:

Actually you can delete the operating system using the operating system. The only difference is, if you are talking about windows there is a fail safe to prevent it. However; in the past, early versions of windows you could delete it from within the program.

I think of death more like a battery that has run out of charge. As long as the battery isn't damaged too much, you should technically be able to recharge it since the body is nothing but biochemical reactions.

Would it really totally delete itself, or it would start and then crash and become corrupted?

Anyway, better give another analogy: A snake trying to swallow itself =)

I agree with that analogy, except I think its the mind itself that is the battery, not the body.

FireAndYce;94300 wrote:

I think that, sadly, there is no way to know for sure. Limits of conscious reality could be defined by conscious existence(one could see how easily this scenario could be infinely amazing for existence and, equally possible, potentially deadly) just as easily as consciousness could be based souly on biochemical limits of the human body....we simply cannot know.

I think we can logically deduce that consciousness is not limited to the body though. My line of thinking is the following:
*The universe came to be once
*Everthing that comes to be once can come to be more times, thus, the universe is both infinite and never-ending.
*In an infinite universe, everthing happens
*If everthing happens, then minds are recycled. This is backed up by the second conclusion: If my mind was "assigned" to a living being once, it will be more times. That also means that it will last forever, and there are other minds like mine, though they can never be reconized.

Lily;94438 wrote:

If we wouldn't/couldn't die, would we really live?

Yes, but we wouldnt reconize we are alive, for we wouldnt question "what if we were not alive?"

@glasstrees,

Nothing really dies the universe reprocesses life, consciousness , however, remains a mystery to me

@glasstrees,

i think it is obvious that whoever is happy would like to live forever and whoever is not happy would just as soon die, the sooner the better. unless they are really optimistic they will be happy some day of course.

i wouldnt mind living forever if i could be happy forever. in fact i wouldnt mind dying tomorrow if i could just be happy today...actually i dont think i would mind dying tomorrow very much either way.

how come all you guys sound so happy?

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