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

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