Does anyone really want to exist forever?

[geordief]

So suppose we did learn how to live forever. That would mean everyone could do this and also every living being. So we would be living with coronavirus and other diseases for all time and going through repeated bouts of extreme discomfort (to put it mildly) with no exit strategy.

The diseases we have are mostly other living organisms that are either symbiotic or parasitic with us.

I wonder who would come up with the idea of somehow putting an end to this situation.

 

[Write4U]

Response to highlighted ;
See your point , but mind is more than experiences , the mind thinks upon these experiences . It learns .
Just recordings of experiences does not imply a mind .

The stack records everything, It is a copy of the mind, including all its knowledge and memories of all experiences. The one problem may be the new sleeve, which is physically different from the original you. Your mind has to adjust to the functions and limitations of your new sleeve each time you switch. Which is OK if your sleeve is an upgrade from the old one, but can be frustrating when your new sleeve is inadequate for your preferred lifestyle.

And over time as a person has switched sleeves many times, complications of conflicting memories may cause a form of schizophrenia. Immortality almost certainly results in madness, more or less the exact opposite of mental deprivation. Too much information is just as bad as not enough information.

 

[Write4U]

That would mean everyone could do this and also every living being

No, a good and healthy sleeve costs a lots of money as does an artificial bionic sleeve.

A virus already practices a form of immortality as long as it can find a new sleeve (cell) to copy itself.

 

[iceaura]

So suppose we did learn how to live forever. That would mean everyone could do this and also every living being. So we would be living with coronavirus and other diseases for all time and going through repeated bouts of extreme discomfort (to put it mildly) with no exit strategy.

In Le Guin's story being immortal does not bequeath powers of regeneration - so injuries accumulate, eventually transforming the afflicted into something resembling a large diamond.

 

[river]

river said: ↑
Response to highlighted ;
See your point , but mind is more than experiences , the mind thinks upon these experiences . It learns .
Just recordings of experiences does not imply a mind .

The stack records everything, It is a copy of the mind, including all its knowledge and memories of all experiences. The one problem may be the new sleeve, which is physically different from the original you. Your mind has to adjust to the functions and limitations of your new sleeve each time you switch. Which is OK if your sleeve is an upgrade from the old one, but can be frustrating when your new sleeve is inadequate for your preferred lifestyle.

And over time as a person has switched sleeves many times, complications of conflicting memories may cause a form of schizophrenia. Immortality almost certainly results in madness, more or less the exact opposite of mental deprivation. Too much information is just as bad as not enough information.

Highlighted

Disagree

It is a copy of the Brain not the Mind .

The Mind is greater than the sum of the Brains parts .

 

[Write4U]

The Mind is greater than the sum of the Brains parts .

True, but the stack remembers everything and when implanted will fundamentally still represent the memories of the owner and his/her mental emotional responses.
But you are right, in the series it is established that after using many sleeves (different bodies), the mind does begin to develop confusing responses which are duly recorded by the stack. Each sleeve has its own physical memories and if the previous sleeve was an athlete and the stack gets replaced into a less than athletic sleeve, there will obviously be frustrations.

 

[river]

river said: ↑
The Mind is greater than the sum of the Brains parts .

True, but the stack remembers everything and when implanted will fundamentally still represent the memories of the owner and his/her mental emotional responses.
But you are right, in the series it is established that after using many sleeves (different bodies), the mind does begin to develop confusing responses which are duly recorded by the stack. Each sleeve has its own physical memories and if the previous sleeve was an athlete and the stack gets replaced into a less than athletic sleeve, there will obviously be frustrations.

There is soul .

 

[paddoboy]

There is soul .

That's nothing more then a religiously inspired myth.
There is no soul...there is no evidence for a soul.

 

[river]

river said: ↑
There is soul .

That's nothing more then a religiously inspired myth.
There is no soul...there is no evidence for a soul.

Just religious people understand the evidence of a Soul ?

 

[Write4U]

Just religious people understand the evidence of a Soul ?

I believe religious people see the "mind" as an enduring aspect of consciousness and called it the "soul".

It's really just the mind which defines the individual, and when that individual dies, it's mind (soul) ceases to exist also.
Religious people like to think we live forever through our souls, but IMO, that's just wishful thinking.

 

[river]

New
↑
Just religious people understand the evidence of a Soul ?

I believe religious people see the "mind" as an enduring aspect of consciousness and called it the "soul".

It's really just the mind which defines the individual, and when that individual dies, it's mind (soul) ceases to exist also.
Religious people like to think we live forever through our souls, but IMO, that's just wishful thinking.

 

[river]

Write4U said: ↑
I believe religious people see the "mind" as an enduring aspect of consciousness and called it the "soul".

Perhaps .

Soul to me though is about , Attitude .

Mind , is intellect .

 

[paddoboy]

Religious people like to think we live forever through our souls, but IMO, that's just wishful thinking.

Wishful thinking, gullibility, and willful unevidenced lying claims also.

 

[paddoboy]

Sarah Brightman - Who Wants To Live Forever

 

[river]

Write4U said: ↑
Religious people like to think we live forever through our souls, but IMO, that's just wishful thinking.

Wishful thinking, gullibility, and willful unevidenced lying claims also.

Experience . Knowledge . = Evidence .

 

[Write4U]

Wishful thinking, gullibility, and willful unevidenced lying claims also.

Of course I agree with that.

But what is history if not a continuation of an "enduring legacy"? Can a case be made that in the abstract a legacy is a form of continuation of the person's mental products during his lifetime? An "accounting" of that person's existence and thoughts? And as a result of such accounting that person attains a form of historical immortality?

This of course is very different from a "divine selection" of souls worthy of heavenly immortality.

 

[RainbowSingularity]

My feeling is after 50 trillion years, no matter how good your existence is, you'll be looking for an exit. The concept of eternal life, even in heaven, is terrifying

you mean this ?

LGBTQ+ Equal Rights now !

p.s you realise one could argue your statement of opinion displays a somewhat arrogant lack of imagination and lack of appreciation for the complexities & beauty of life

 

[river]

you mean this ?

LGBTQ+ Equal Rights now !

p.s you realise one could argue your statement of opinion displays a somewhat arrogant lack of imagination and lack of appreciation for the complexities & beauty of life

And the Limits that gay life has on Perpetuating Life Existence . And Human Existence .

 

[pluto2]

No I certainty wouldn't want to exist forever in this world because this world feels more and more like a prison to me.

This world is pretty scary so being forced to live forever in this world feels even more scary and freighting to me.

The universe we live in is pretty much a dystopian world and it can be scary so no I certaintly wouldn't want to live forever on this dystopian planet.

 

[sculptor]

Tithonus?