X-Message-Number: 11763 Date: Sun, 16 May 1999 01:52:27 -0700 From: Mike Perry <> Subject: Book ready for review No, it isn't conscious :-), but my book *Forever for All* in draft form is now ready for anyone here who wishes to take a look. Your comments appreciated, though not required. I also want to thank the people on CryoNet for the many discussions that I think improved the content of the book, and to extend apologies to any who were offended by the sometimes protracted philosophical arguments in which I took part. I have the book in two electronic formats, Word-97 (recommended, if you can read it), and text only. Let me know your preference, and I'll email your copy as an attached file. The word file is about 1.8MB, the text file, about 1.3. * * * * * FOREVER FOR ALL Moral Philosophy and the Scientific Prospects for Immortality by R. Michael Perry ABSTRACT The book considers the problems of death and the hereafter, and how these ages-old problems ought to be addressed in light of our continuing progress. A materialistic viewpoint of reality is assumed, denying the likelihood of supernatural or other, extrahuman assistance. Death, however, is not seen as inevitable or even irreversible; it is maintained that the problem can and should be addressed scientifically in all its aspects. The book thus follows recent, "immortalist" thinking that places hopes in future advances in our understanding and technology. It seeks a common ground between two rather clearly marked strands of this scientific immortalism that so far have been largely separate. There is the "cosmological" camp that, for example, sees resurrection of the dead as a distant, future possibility, though essentially outside our control and immediate concern. There is another group, however, advocating that there are things we ought to be doing now to further our immortalization, such as freezing the newly deceased for possible reanimation. The book constructs a philosophical system that incorporates and harmonizes both points of view. A functionalist, reductionist argument is developed for the possibility of resurrecting the dead through the eventual creation of replicas or related constructs. Meanwhile, it is urged, medical advances leading to the conquest of aging and biological death should be pursued. An advisable interim strategy is arranging to have one's remains preserved for reanimation when, in the relatively near future, technology should be available to accomplish the task. Overall the immortalization of humans and other life forms is seen as a great moral project and Labor of Love that will unite us in a common cause and provide a meaningful destiny. * * * * * Best forever for all, Mike Perry Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=11763