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The Fountain of Eternal Life in Cleveland, Ohio
Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an infinite length of time,[citation needed] or in a state of timelessness.[citation needed]
As immortality is the negation of mortality—not dying or not being subject to death—it has been a subject of the greatest fascination to mankind since at least the beginning of history.[citation needed] The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the first literary works, dating back at least to the 22nd century BC, is primarily a quest of a hero seeking to become immortal. What form an unending human life would take, or whether the soul exists and possesses immortality, has been a fundamental point of focus of philosophy and religion,[citation needed] as well as the subject of speculation, fantasy, and debate.
As of March 2008, human physical immortality is not known to be an achievable possibility. Biological forms have inherent limitations in their design — for example, their fragility and slow adaptability to changing environments. Michael Shermer believes there is no significant scientific evidence for the proposed methods of achieving physical immortality. He says about them, "All have some basis in science, but none has achieved anything like scientific confirmation."[citation needed] Jacques-Yves Cousteau, in the preface to his book The Ocean World, expressed his meditations on physical immortality, as a part of life and its adaptive processes: "Death," Cousteau states, "is fundamental to evolution," and "evolution is fundamental to survival." He concludes that, biologically speaking, "immortality does not present a possible means to avoid death": "Mortal or immortal, [an organism] must die."[citation needed]
A timeless existence is also not known for certain to be achievable, or even definable, despite millennia of arguments for eternity. Wittgenstein, in a notably non-theological interpretation of eternal life, writes in the Tractatus that, "If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present."[citation needed]
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See also List of long-living organisms
There are three main causes of death: aging, disease and trauma.
Aubrey de Grey, a leading researcher in the field of aging, defines aging as follows: “a collection of cumulative changes to the molecular and cellular structure of an adult organism, which result in essential metabolic processes, but which also, once they progress far enough, increasingly disrupt metabolism, resulting in pathology and death.” The current causes of aging in humans are cell loss (without replacement), oncogenic nuclear mutations and epimutations, cell senescence, mitochondrial mutations, lysosomal aggregates, extracellular aggregates, random extracellular cross-linking, immune system decline, and endocrine changes. Eliminating aging would mean finding a way to deal with each of these causes.
Disease also is theoretically surmountable via technology. Human understanding of genetics is leading to cures and treatments of a myriad of previously incurable diseases. The mechanisms by which other diseases do their damage are becoming better understood. Sophisticated methods of detecting diseases early are being developed. Preventative medicine is becoming better understood. Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson\'s and Alzheimer\'s may soon be curable with the use of stem cells. Breakthroughs in cell biology and telomere research are leading to treatments for cancer. Vaccines are being researched for AIDS and tuberculosis. Genes associated with type 1 diabetes and certain types of cancer have been discovered allowing for new therapies to be developed. Artificial devices attached directly to the nervous system may restore sight to the blind. Drugs are being developed to treat myriad other diseases and ailments.
Most likely the hardest cause of death to overcome is trauma. The problems of aging and disease usually at least provide ample time to solve them, if the technology exists. But even in a postulated world where aging and disease were correctable conditions, a sudden hole in the brain from a gunshot, for example, would not be. In situations where time available to provide treatment is extremely short, the success rate of even advanced paramedical technology remains low. Unless technology advances to the point (via perhaps nanotechnology) that a body can automatically treat itself from severe trauma, then the time it takes to deliver a patient to a care facility will likely remain the overriding factor. An additional problem with an injury such as a shot to the head is that with the damage, data is lost, so unless the person\'s mind has been "saved" before being shot, even if the tissue is repaired the data will remain unrecoverable, a severe problem if it\'s data needed to control vital organs, such as the lungs or heart. Also, unlike other organs, a brain can\'t be replaced in the same way other organs can. Preventatively engineering inherent resistance to injury into the body is thus relevant in addition to entirely reactive measures more closely associated with the paradigm of medical treatment (see transhumanism).
Physical immortality is the unending existence of a person from a physical source such as a brain or computer. This can either be because of a spiritual belief, such as held by members of the Rastafari movement and some who practice Rebirthing-Breathwork or it can be based on technological singularity predictions about the future.
Technological immortality is the prospect for much longer life spans made possible by scientific advances in a variety of fields: nanotechnology, emergency room procedures, genetics, biological engineering, regenerative medicine, microbiology, and others. Contemporary life spans in the advanced industrial societies are already markedly longer than those of the past because of better nutrition, availability of health care, standard of living and bio-medical scientific advances. Technological immortality predicts further progress for the same reasons over the near term. An important aspect of current scientific thinking about immortality is that some combination of human cloning, cryonics or nanotechnology will play an essential role in extreme life extension. Robert Freitas, a nanorobotics theorist, suggests we may be able to create tiny medical nanorobots that could go through our bloodstream, find dangerous things like cancer cells and bacteria, and destroy them.Robert A. Freitas Jr., Microbivores: Artificial Mechanical Phagocytes using Digest and Discharge Protocol, self-published, 2001 [1] Freitas anticipates that gene-therapies and nanotechnology will eventually make the human body effectively self-sustainable and capable of living indefinitely, short of severe trauma. Some suggest we will be able to continually create biological or synthetic replacement parts to replace damaged or dying ones, a situation that could allegedly cause an organlegging problem as seen in much Science Fiction.
Some people believe that such treatments will not be available in their natural life span. Cryonics is the practice of preserving organisms (either intact specimens or only their brains) for possible future revival by storing them at cryogenic temperatures where metabolism and decay are almost completely stopped. Ideally this would allow clinically dead people to be brought back in the future after cures to the patients\' diseases have been discovered and aging is reversible. Modern cryonics procedures use a process called vitrification which creates a glass like state rather than freezing as the body is brought to low temperatures. This process reduces the risk of ice crystals damaging the brain structure. Many people who wish to become physically immortal think of cryonics as a backup plan in case the emerging life extension technologies don\'t develop rapidly enough.
One interesting possibility involves uploading the personality and memories via direct mind-computer interface. Some extropian futurists propose that, thanks to exponentially growing computing power, it will someday be possible to upload human consciousness onto a computer system, and live indefinitely in a virtual environment. This could be accomplished via advanced cybernetics, where computer hardware would initially be installed in the brain to help sort memory or accelerate thought processes. Gradually more and more components would be added until the person\'s entire brain functions were handled by artificial devices, without any sharp transitions that would lead to some identity issues mentioned below. At this point, the human body would become only an accessory and the mind could be transferred to any sufficiently powerful computer. A person in this state would then be essentially immortal, short of cataclysmic destruction of the entire civilization and their computers.
However, some argue that it is impossible to truly move one\'s consciousness from one body to another; it could be duplicated, but the original would still exist, creating two independent consciousnesses.
Quantum immortality is the name for the speculation that the Everett many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics implies that a conscious being cannot cease to be. The idea is highly controversial.
Biological immortality is an absence of aging. A cell or organism that does not experience aging, or ceases to age at some point, is biologically immortal. Biologists have chosen the word immortal to designate cells that are not limited by the Hayflick limit (where cells no longer divide because of DNA damage or shortened telomeres). Prior to the work of Leonard Hayflick there was the erroneous belief fostered by Alexis Carrel that all normal somatic cells are immortal.[citation needed]
Biologically immortal organisms can still die by being physically destroyed.
Transforming a human into a cyborg can include brain implants or extracting a human mind and placing it in a robotic life-support system. One would thus be impervious to aging and disease and theoretically immortal unless killed or destroyed.
Joseph Wright of Derby, The Alchymist, In Search of the Philosopher\'s Stone, 1771
Many Indian fables and tales include instances of metempsychosis — the ability to jump into another body — performed by advanced Yogis in order to live a longer life. There are also entire Hindu sects devoted to the attainment of physical immortality by various methods, namely the Naths and the Aghoras.[citation needed]
Long before modern science made such speculation feasible, people wishing to escape death turned to the supernatural world for answers. Examples include Chinese Taoists[citation needed] and the medieval alchemists and their search for the Philosopher\'s Stone, or more modern religious mystics such as Sri Aurobindo, who believed in the possibility of achieving physical immortality through spiritual transformation. In 18th century France, a man who called himself the Comte de Saint-Germain claimed to be centuries old; people who adhere to the Ascended Master Teachings are convinced of his physical immortality.[citation needed]Rastafarians believe in physical immortality as a part of their religious doctrines. They believe that after God has called the Day of Judgment they will go to what they describe as Mount Zion in Africa to live in freedom for ever. They avoid the term "everlasting life"\' and deliberately use "ever-living" instead.
Another group that believes in physical immortality are the Rebirthers, who believe that by following the connected breathing process of rebirthing they can physically live forever.
Spiritual immortality, also known as the Immortality of the soul, is the unending existence of a person from a nonphysical source such as a soul.
It is a belief that is expressed in nearly every religious tradition. In both Western and Eastern religions, the spirit is an energy or force that transcends the mortal shell, and returns to: (1) the spirit realm whether to enjoy heavenly bliss or suffer eternal torment in hell, or; (2) the cycle of life, directly or indirectly depending on the tradition. Below we consider the perspective of some of the world\'s most popular religions on spiritual immortality.
Buddhists believe that there is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth and that the process is according to the qualities of their actions. This constant process of becoming ceases at the fruition of enlightenment (Bodhi) at which a being is no longer subject to causation (karma) but enters into a state that the Buddha called amata (deathlessness). However, in Buddhism there is no belief in an eternal soul (anatta), and some sects also believe in rather a collection of habits and memories in a dynamic process of constant change. At enlightenment the kammic seeds (sankharas or sanskaras) for all future becoming and rebirth are exhausted. After biological death an arhat or buddha enters into what is called parinirvana.
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Roman Catholic dogmatic theology also teaches that there is a supernatural realm called Purgatory where souls who have died in a state of grace but have yet to expiate venial sins or temporal punishments due to past sins are cleansed before they are admitted into Heaven.
Jehovah\'s Witnesses believe the word soul (nephesh or psykhe) as used in the Bible is a person, an animal, or the life a person or animal enjoys. Hence, the soul is not part of man, but is the whole man — man as a living being. Hence, when a person or animal dies, the soul dies, and death is a state of non-existence, based on Ezekiel 18:4."Is There LIFE After Death?", The Watchtower July 15, 2001. Web version available at [2] accessed January 26, 2006. Hell (hades or sheol) is not a place of fiery torment, but rather the common grave of humankind, a place of unconsciousness.Hell-Eternal Torture or Common Grave? The Watchtower, April 15, 1993, p. 6.What Really Is Hell? The Watchtower, July 15, 2002. Web version available at [3]. After the final judgment, it is expected that the righteous will live for ever in an earth turned into a paradise.
Some sects who hold to the doctrine of baptismal regeneration also believe in a third realm called Limbo, which is the final destination of souls who have not been baptised, but who have been innocent of mortal sin. Souls in Limbo include unbaptised infants and those who lived virtuously but were never exposed to Christianity in their lifetimes. Christian Scientists believe that sin brought death, and that death will be overcome with the overcoming of sin.
Hindus believe in an immortal soul which is reincarnated after death. According to Hinduism, people repeat a cycle of life, death, and rebirth (a cycle called samsara). If they live their life well, their Karma increases and their station in the next life will be higher, and conversely lower if they live their life poorly. Eventually after many life times of perfecting one\'s karma, the soul is freed from the cycle and lives in perpetual bliss. There is no never-ending Hell in Hinduism, although if a soul consistently lives very evil lives, they could work their way down to the very bottom of the cycle.
Judaism claims that the righteous dead will be resurrected in the "messianic age" with the coming of the messiah. They will then be granted immortality in a perfect world. The wicked dead, on the other hand, will not be resurrected at all. This is in contrast to Christianity where the wicked dead are still immortal and exist forever in Hell. This is not the only Jewish belief about the afterlife. Others do believe in some version of Hell. The Tanakh is not specific about the afterlife, so there are wide differences in views and explanations among believers.
Muslims believe that everyone has an immortal soul which will live on after death. A soul undergoes correction in Hell if it has led an evil life, but once this correction is over, the soul is admitted to Heaven. Souls that commit unforgivable evil will never leave hell. Some souls will therefore never taste Heaven.
Shintoists claim that except for those who choose or are dispatched to the underground world of Yomi, every living and non-living being may lose its body, but not its soul (tamashii), and that they live together with mortal souls as an immortal being called Kami. Unlike the previously mentioned religions, Shinto allows anything to attain Kami status regardless of its existence before becoming Kami. Therefore, even those that do not believe in Shinto may choose to become Kami, as well as things like a rock, a tree, or even a robot. Some may be reincarnated for various reasons. Shinto has no version of Hell or a judgment day.
Zoroastrians believe that on the fourth day after death, the human soul leaves the body and the body remains as an empty shell. The souls would go to heaven or hell. The concept of Heaven and Hell in Zoroastrianism may have influenced Abrahamic religions.
The possibility of clinical immortality raises a host of medical, philosophical, and religious issues and ethical questions. These include persistent vegetative states, the nature of personality over time, technology to mimic or copy the mind or its processes, social and economic disparities created by longevity, and survival of the heat death of the universe.
Essential to many of the world\'s religions is a doctrine of an eternal afterlife. Narratives from Christianity and Islam show that eternal afterlife is not desirable to the unfaithful:
The rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
—Luke 16:22-26 King James Bible Translation
Those who are wretched shall be in the Fire: There will be for them therein (nothing but) the heaving of sighs and sobs: They will dwell therein for all the time that the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord willeth: for thy Lord is the (sure) accomplisher of what He planneth. And those who are blessed shall be in the Garden: They will dwell therein for all the time that the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord willeth: a gift without break.
—The Qur\'an, 11:106-108
Instances from other religions include the Buddhist concept of eternal rebirth, which considers that rebirth is caused by ignorance, an essentially undesirable condition that is to be overcome.[citation needed]
Physical immortality has also been imagined as a form of eternal torment, as in Mary Shelley\'s short story The Mortal Immortal, the protagonist of which witnesses everyone he cares about dying around him. Jorge Luis Borges explored the idea that life gets its meaning from death in the short story The Immortal; an entire society having achieved immortality, they found time becoming infinite, and so found no motivation for any action.
Many religions promise their faithful an eternal paradise in an afterlife. These presume perfection, as they are part of a divine plan, and are categorically desirable.
Physical immortality is considered desirable over its counterpart, death, which to date has been inevitable for all human beings. This presumes tolerable living conditions as an incentive for perpetual life, as the prevalence of suicide demonstrates.
Ankh
Trefoil knot
There are numerous symbols representing immortality. Pictured here is an Egyptian symbol of life that holds connotations of immortality when depicted in the hands of the gods and pharaohs who were seen as having control over the journey of life, the ankh (left). The Möbius strip in the shape of a trefoil knot is another symbol of immortality. Most symbolic representations of infinity or the life cycle are often used to represent immortality depending on the context they are placed in. Other examples include the Ouroboros, the Chinese fungus of longevity, the ten kanji, the phoenix, and the colors amaranth (in Western culture) and peach (in Chinese culture).
Immortal beings and species abound in fiction, especially fantasy fiction.
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| Death and related topics | |
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| In medicine | Autopsy · Brain death · Clinical death · Euthanasia · Persistent vegetative state · Terminal illness |
| Lists | Causes of death by rate · People by cause of death · Notable deaths in 2007 · 2008 |
| Mortality | Immortality · Infant mortality · Legal death · Maternal death · Mortality rate |
| After death | Afterlife · Burial · Cremation · Decomposition · Funeral · Grief · Mourning · Promession · Resomation · Séance · Customs |
| Research | Cryonics · Near-death experience · Near-death studies · Reincarnation research |
| Other | Genocide · Fascination with death · Martyrdom · Sacrifices (Human · Animal) · Suicide · War · Personification of Death · Death and culture |
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