X-Message-Number: 16597
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 18:20:23 -0400
From: Jeffrey Soreff <>
Subject: weeding

Louis Epstein wrote:
>I am as you might guess partial
>to the view that it's something
>that could be weeded out.

>Again...my view of the universe
>is more idealistic than that...I
>believe in the possibility of
>perfectability,and see that as
>part of immortalism.

The attempt to "perfect" humans, to "weed out" traits undesirable to the
weeder, has a rather consistent history.  It has been tried (undoubtedly
amongst other places) in France, in Russia, and in Germany.
Whether in the hands of Robespierre, of Lenin and Stalin, or of Hitler,
it has consistently led to the _opposite_ of immortalism; it has led
to bloodbaths.  The _point_ of immortalism is to hang on to the people
we have now, to as many of them as we can.  This is diametrically
opposed to programs of "weeding out" traits, which reliably turn
into programs for "weeding out" _people_.

OK, never mind about the Nazis, who, if they has succeeded, would have
ensured that neither you nor I would be here.  Consider _just_ that a
substantial fraction of society considers immortalism to be a character
flaw, and would cheerfully stamp it out.  Doesn't _that_, at least,
give you pause, make you consider that eliminating traits over the
objections of the people bearing them might have some drawbacks???

                                  Jeffrey Soreff

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