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Author: Adam R Rosenthal
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 1452971749
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 268
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Book Description
Examining the links between today’s ideas of radical life extension and age-old notions of immortality From Plato’s notion of generation to Derrida’s concept of survival to such modern phenomena as anti-aging treatments, cryogenics, cloning, and whole-brain uploads, Adam Rosenthal’s Prosthetic Immortalities shows how the dream of indefinite life has always been a technological one: a matter of prosthesis. He argues that every biological instance of perpetual life, from one-celled organisms to rejuvenating jellyfish to Henrietta Lacks’s “immortal” cancer cells, always results in the transformation of the original being. There can, therefore, be no certainty of immortality. Yet, because finite mortal life is already marked by difference, division, and change, as Rosenthal concludes: “the problem of immortality will not cease to haunt us.” Prosthetic Immortalities examines the persistence of humans’ aspirations of deathlessness, showing that the link between immortalization and prostheticization is not unique to a single period but is, rather, a ubiquitous element of the discourse of immortality, encompassing both modern technoscientific efforts and religious discourses of an afterlife. Rosenthal asks to what extent the emergence of a virtual, posited, immortal presence follows from the tenets of empirical science—and not simply from the discourse of biology but also, and more radically still, from biological organization itself. Rosenthal ultimately argues that the discovery of biological immortals—lifeforms that naturally have indefinitely long lifespans, such as cancer cells and bacteria—present novel conceptual difficulties for traditional philosophical approaches to mortality and selfhood, asking whether it is life itself that first births immortalizing prostheses.
Author: Adam R Rosenthal
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 1452971749
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Get Book Here
Book Description
Examining the links between today’s ideas of radical life extension and age-old notions of immortality From Plato’s notion of generation to Derrida’s concept of survival to such modern phenomena as anti-aging treatments, cryogenics, cloning, and whole-brain uploads, Adam Rosenthal’s Prosthetic Immortalities shows how the dream of indefinite life has always been a technological one: a matter of prosthesis. He argues that every biological instance of perpetual life, from one-celled organisms to rejuvenating jellyfish to Henrietta Lacks’s “immortal” cancer cells, always results in the transformation of the original being. There can, therefore, be no certainty of immortality. Yet, because finite mortal life is already marked by difference, division, and change, as Rosenthal concludes: “the problem of immortality will not cease to haunt us.” Prosthetic Immortalities examines the persistence of humans’ aspirations of deathlessness, showing that the link between immortalization and prostheticization is not unique to a single period but is, rather, a ubiquitous element of the discourse of immortality, encompassing both modern technoscientific efforts and religious discourses of an afterlife. Rosenthal asks to what extent the emergence of a virtual, posited, immortal presence follows from the tenets of empirical science—and not simply from the discourse of biology but also, and more radically still, from biological organization itself. Rosenthal ultimately argues that the discovery of biological immortals—lifeforms that naturally have indefinitely long lifespans, such as cancer cells and bacteria—present novel conceptual difficulties for traditional philosophical approaches to mortality and selfhood, asking whether it is life itself that first births immortalizing prostheses.
Author: Bruce F Katz
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning
ISBN: 1449633676
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 409
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Book Description
We are on the cusp of a broad revolution, one with startling implications for perception, cognition, emotion, and indeed, personal identity. Still in its relative infancy, this rapidly progressing field is poised to move from perceptual aids such as cochlear implants to devices that will enhance and speed up thought to the ultimate goal of researchers, that of downloading the mind from its bound state in the body to a platform-independent existence. This controversial book describes the science that will make these transformations possible. It begins by describing how the brain works, including an overview of the architecture of the brain. It then examines the current state-of-art neural technologies, including devices that read from the brain, and devices that can write information into the brain. The book also describes how insights from the nascent field of consciousness studies show how the full transfer of the “soul” could be realized. Finally, it considers what it would be like to be a mind unbound, and the possibilities beyond those found in ordinary corporeal life.
Author: Victor Gryaznov
Publisher: Litres
ISBN: 5040392656
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 19
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Book Description
Futurological forecast. What is a post-industrial civilization. Nanotechnologies. Nanomedicine. Immortality. Already now for 3 million dollars it is possible to buy cyber immortality.
Author: M.J. Spickett
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1988124654
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 282
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Book Description
Author: Kevin Bohacz
Publisher: CPrompt
ISBN: 0979181518
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 506
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Book Description
"What if God is only a ghost in a cosmic machine?"
Author: Anya Bernstein
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691185956
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290
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Book Description
A gripping account of the Russian visionaries who are pursuing human immortality As long as we have known death, we have dreamed of life without end. In The Future of Immortality, Anya Bernstein explores the contemporary Russian communities of visionaries and utopians who are pressing at the very limits of the human. The Future of Immortality profiles a diverse cast of characters, from the owners of a small cryonics outfit to scientists inaugurating the field of biogerontology, from grassroots neurotech enthusiasts to believers in the Cosmist ideas of the Russian Orthodox thinker Nikolai Fedorov. Bernstein puts their debates and polemics in the context of a long history of immortalist thought in Russia, with global implications that reach to Silicon Valley and beyond. If aging is a curable disease, do we have a moral obligation to end the suffering it causes? Could immortality be the foundation of a truly liberated utopian society extending beyond the confines of the earth—something that Russians, historically, have pondered more than most? If life without end requires radical genetic modification or separating consciousness from our biological selves, how does that affect what it means to be human? As vividly written as any novel, The Future of Immortality is a fascinating account of techno-scientific and religious futurism—and the ways in which it hopes to transform our very being.
Author: Eileen Pollack
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504059662
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
“A tragicomedy about the paradoxes of trying to be a decent human, and—maybe even trickier—of trying to be a decent mom” by the author of A Perfect Life (Rivka Galchen, author of Little Labors). Professor Maxine Sayers once found her personal and professional life so fulfilling that she founded the Institute for Future Studies, a program dedicated to studying the effects of technology on our culture and finding ways to prolong human life. But when her beloved husband dies, she is so devastated she can barely get out of bed. To make matters worse, her son, Zach, abruptly quit his job in Silicon Valley and has been out of contact for seven months. But Maxine is jolted from her grief by her sudden realization that a favorite former student (and a former close friend of her son) might be a terrorist called the Technobomber and that Zach might either be involved in or has become a victim of this extremist’s bombing. Deserting her teaching responsibilities, her ailing mother, and an appealing suitor, Maxine is compelled to set out in search of her son in order to warn and protect him—even though she knows she should report her suspicions to the FBI to prevent greater carnage. “The Professor of Immortality is intimate and sweeping, funny and terrifying, and most of all dead-on in its observations of what it means to want to know everything about people we love while still being frightened of what we might find out: it’s a detective story, and a story of motherlove. Eileen Pollack is a splendid writer.” —Elizabeth McCracken, author of Bowlaway “In this exceptional novel, Eileen Pollack writes with great immediacy about the impact of grief on a parent’s perception of the world. Tender, wry, full of unexpected revelations, The Professor of Immortality gripped me from the first scene, and the urgent questions it poses have stayed with me.” —Idra Novey, author of Those Who Knew
Author: Sandra J. Godde
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1666795518
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 72
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Book Description
At the forefront of science and technology there lie competing ideologies as to the nature of humanity and the future of human flourishing. Will technology become the ultimate savior, or has the work of salvation already been accomplished? Are we only creatures of mind and body or are we spiritual beings at our core? Reaching for Immortality bravely examines the agenda and ideals of the transhumanist movement, and compares and contrasts these with the biblical vision of a physical resurrection and a divine upgrade of the entire created order. Which vision of the future will inspire you, and capture your allegiance? This book is a primer to provoke deep thought about the impact of technological change on human personhood, and asks crucial questions facing our age: -What does it mean to be human, in light of exponential technological growth? -What is transhumanism and where is it leading us? -How important is embodiment for our personal identity? -How would the biblical understanding of personhood survive in a posthuman future?
Author: Piotr Bienkowski
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
ISBN: 1785356399
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212
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Book Description
Many have pursued, and continue to pursue, real immortality by seeking to prolong their lives on this earth. Others pursue symbolic or proxy immortality, through children, fame or being part of something long-lasting. One can imagine these different forms of immortality as a menu of options of how to live forever: you click the one that appeals to you most and best fits your beliefs, hopes, values and worldview.
Author: Oliver Krüger
Publisher: transcript Verlag
ISBN: 3839450594
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 357
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Book Description
In recent years, ideas of post- and transhumanism have been popularized by novels, TV series, and Hollywood movies. According to this radical perspective, humankind and all biological life have become obsolete. Traditional forms of life are inefficient at processing information and inept at crossing the high frontier: outer space. While humankind can expect to be replaced by their own artificial progeny, posthumanists assume that they will become an immortal part of a transcendent superintelligence. Krüger's award-winning study examines the historical and philosophical context of these futuristic promises by Ray Kurzweil, Nick Bostrom, Frank Tipler, and other posthumanist thinkers.
