In this blog post, we will examine the long-standing human desire for eternal life and the impact of death on the meaning and happiness of life from a philosophical perspective.
There have been various attempts to achieve eternal life throughout history. The most famous example is Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, who sent his ministers to search for the elixir of life. However, Qin Shi Huangdi never found the elixir of life and died without achieving immortality. Since then, there have been many attempts to achieve immortality, and even today, a lot of research is being conducted to achieve this goal. For example, Russian billionaire Dmitry Itskov is working on a life extension project called the “2045 Initiative.” In the past, life extension, or immortality projects, would have been nothing more than failures due to a lack of science and technology or mere superstition, but with the rapid advancement of science and technology today, such life extension projects are showing signs of success. In addition, Ray Kurzweil, a famous futurist and director of engineering at Google, said that immortality will be achieved within 25 years.
Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who wanted to enjoy eternal life so much, was betrayed by his people and lived an unhappy life, always fearing death. Louis XIV also believed that if he had all his teeth pulled out, he would live forever, so he had all his teeth pulled out and lived an unhappy life without teeth. From these examples from the past, we can see that the path to eternal life is very unhappy. These examples from the past suggest that obsessing over eternal life makes life miserable. However, even if we succeed in achieving eternal life, humanity will not be happy by enjoying it.
Then, let us go to the root of the matter and consider why we want to enjoy eternal life. Basically, we fear death. In other words, we believe that death prevents us from enjoying happiness. So, will we be happy if we eliminate death? Ultimately, what we gain from eternal life is happiness. However, would humanity, which has never experienced eternal life, really be happy if it were to achieve it? I don’t think so. It is because death exists that people do their best and seek happiness. Therefore, if there were no death, people would not do their best or seek happiness.
It is because death exists that people do their best and seek happiness. Many people say that human greed is endless. If that is the case, why is human greed endless? Simply put, it is because we pursue happiness. If that is the case, why is that process endless? It is because death exists. It is because death exists that people endlessly pursue happiness in order to experience as much happiness as possible before they die. However, if death disappears due to eternal life, the time limit for experiencing happiness disappears. In other words, we would not have to search endlessly for happiness. Ultimately, humanity would stop searching for happiness and live unhappy lives.
Many philosophers have discussed death and happiness, or greed and happiness. Here, greed refers to the human act of pursuing what one desires. Among the philosophers who have discussed greed and happiness, the most famous are Heidegger and Buddha. However, despite studying the same subject, they came to opposite conclusions. Heidegger argues that because time is finite, humans become greedy, and by satisfying their greed, they obtain happiness. In other words, greed means attachment to one’s life, and continuing to have attachment to one’s life leads to happiness. However, Buddha came to the opposite conclusion. Buddha talks about liberation. He says that when one is liberated, one gains happiness. Here, liberation means letting go of attachment to one’s life. So, which of the two claims is more correct?
I think Heidegger’s argument is more correct. People live harder because they are greedy, and that is what motivates them to live. As mentioned above, the reason we are greedy is because life is finite. Because life is finite, we need to make it more valuable, and that is what makes us greedy. The process of making life more valuable is what brings happiness to humanity. However, if we were to enjoy eternal life and life became infinite, life would lose its value and there would no longer be a need to make it valuable. If that were to happen, a life spent pursuing something valuable would lose its value and life would become miserable.
Those who follow Buddha’s teachings would argue that eternal life would eliminate attachment to life, or greed, allowing people to live a happy, liberated life unbound by anything. This argument seems plausible. However, when we think about it realistically, would a life of doing nothing and wanting nothing really be happy? Most people would not prefer such a life. A life filled with greed is certainly tiring and unhappy. However, a life with a moderate amount of greed is certainly a happy and desirable life.
The reason we endlessly search for happiness may be because death exists. However, from another perspective, this means that human beings are not beings that can be satisfied with the same happiness. This can be observed in our daily lives. We repeat actions that make us happy, and as a result, the happiness we gain from them continues to diminish. For example, when we eat a cookie for the first time, we feel happy because of the act of eating the cookie. However, repeated acts of eating cookies diminish the happiness that comes from the act of eating cookies itself. In the end, the happiness gained from eternal life is like a midsummer night’s dream. At some point, we will no longer feel the happiness that comes from eternal life, and we will seek greater happiness. However, because death no longer exists, we will not feel the need to do so and will remain in a state of unhappiness.
“YOLO” is a popular phrase these days. To put it simply, it means “You Only Live Once,” or enjoy life because you only live once. I think this is probably the simplest answer to the question of whether eternal life makes you happy. You only live once, so do everything you want to do. Ultimately, happiness comes from satisfying your desires, and for that, life must be only once. In other words, if you have eternal life, you no longer need to satisfy your desires, and then you cannot feel happiness.
From another perspective, eternal life raises not only biological questions but also philosophical and ethical ones. For example, if only a limited number of people can enjoy eternal life, who will make that choice and based on what criteria? Furthermore, will those who enjoy eternal life be able to maintain their humanity? These questions require complex discussions that go beyond mere scientific developments. From the perspective of eternal life, various philosophical considerations and ethical concerns are inevitable. This leads us to reflect on whether humanity is truly ready to enjoy eternal life.
