X-Message-Number: 30025
References: <>
From: Kennita Watson <>
Subject: Re: Re: Fear of Death
Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 08:23:24 -0800

> From: "Mattias Erhardsson" <>
> Subject: Re: Re: Fear of Death
>
> ------=_Part_8772_9842239.1195223650095
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>
> "
>
>> With respect to fear of death, I often quote Bob Ettinger, who
>> wrote,"One should not fear death
>
>
> Unfortunately, this isn't a real option
> "
>
> Yes it is.
> It might be rare, but there are great deal of people that fear not  
> death.
> Sometimes it can be because they got a death-wish, sometimes because
> they believe that they will come to a better place such as heaven.
> There can also be other reasons.
>
> See, the particulars may vary, but there exists these types of people.

It seems from this response that you didn't actually
go to ernestbecker.org .  Belief in a "better place" is
a mechanism for coping with the fear of death, not the
absence of such fear.  See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Denial_of_Death

IIUC, Becker would claim that even signing up for cryonics
is a coping mechanism.

BTW, having a death-wish, i.e., being suicidal, is a sign
of mental illness, and thus fits in the "not a real option"
bin from my standpoint.

I think the basic point to be made is that what will get
people signed up for cryonics is not fear of death but
love of life (plus optimism regarding science and
humanity).  The good news is that we don't have to swim
upstream against the fear-of-death river to get people to
consider cryonics.  Overcoming ddiction to orthodoxy is
quite hard enough.

Live long and prosper,
Kennita

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