If advances in science and technology make eternal life possible, will humans be happy? This article explores the possibility of eternal life and the ethical and social issues that arise from it, and considers whether eternal life can truly be a blessing for humanity.
In the movie “Lucy,” the protagonist, who is able to use 100% of her brain due to an accidental accident caused by a drug called C.P.H.4 developed through the advancement of science and technology, is confronted with the possibility of absolute immortality, or eternal life. In real life, the possibility of human eternal life is being talked about due to our advancement in science and technology. However, it is important to consider whether this path to eternal life is the path to human happiness. In Greek mythology, Tithonos became immortal at the request of the goddess Eos, who loved him, but he was unable to obtain an immortal body and grew old and turned into a cicada. In this article, I will consider the question of whether eternal life is a path to human happiness from three aspects.
First, if humans enjoy eternal life, there will be no will that makes humans think they should live hard. One of the biggest reasons why humans feel compelled to live hard is the finiteness of our lifespan. Because we have a finite lifespan, we want to do as much valuable work as possible in that finite time and return to nature. However, if the constraints of finite time were removed and humans could enjoy eternal life, humans would be like Tithonos in mythology, growing old without a will. And humans try to realize their values by doing something worthwhile. However, it is questionable whether the realization of these values would be the same in an infinite life. We tend to stop working hard and concentrating on tasks that don’t have a deadline, and I wonder if the realization of human values will be the same.
Also, if we live forever, there is no guarantee that we will have only happy things to do, so eternal life is not necessarily about happiness. If humans were to live forever, it would be very difficult to pursue happiness in a routine that is always repeated. If you think about it, even in a life of a few decades, you go through the same things over and over again, and if you live forever, you will have to repeat those things infinitely. In this situation, humans who try to find new pleasures will become lazy and ignore morality in favor of new pleasures, and it will be impossible to live a generally ethical life.
One of the biggest practical problems is that if all humans were to live forever, the Earth, a finite planet, would not be able to support the population, and since resources are also finite, the excess population would consume them all.
The first premise is that the sustenance produced by humans, food, follows the law of exponential growth. In other words, the same amount of food grows in the same amount of time. This means that the rate of increase per hour decreases when calculated as a percentage. The second premise is that population, on the other hand, follows an exponential growth law. Like compound interest, the population grows exponentially because the underlying number of people changes over time, even at the same growth rate. The third premise is that the majority of working-class or lower-class people increase their fertility rate to improve their material living conditions.
This logic, which emerged from the “demographic theory,” has been proven wrong since the Industrial Revolution, when human life has taken the exact opposite course. However, if human beings enjoy eternal life and do not die, the rate of population growth will not be able to keep up with the rate of food production. In addition, if human beings do not die and the phenomenon of population accumulation appears, there will be a shortage of not only food but also living space, and the environment of the earth will be destroyed by the accumulated population, and it is likely that the earth will become a place where humans cannot lead a normal life.
According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, needs progress through physiological needs, safety needs, affection and belongingness needs, esteem needs, and finally self-actualization needs. The self-actualization need is the desire to reach one’s full potential in order to continue to improve oneself. Unlike other needs, it tends to increase the more it is fulfilled, which is why it is sometimes referred to as a growth need. Other needs include the cognitive need to know and understand and the aesthetic need.
As such, we can say that self-actualization is the ultimate purpose of human life. However, the reason why human beings aim for self-actualization is to pursue a meaningful life within a limited time. In a world without such a time limit, humans would not value time as much as they do now, so they would not be able to live their lives and enjoy happiness as they do now. Also, as mentioned above, the desire for self-actualization is a desire for growth, so if we were to live an eternal life, we would be subject to an infinite number of desires.
In conclusion, human beings will never be happy if they have eternal life. As I said before, the reason why humans work so hard is because of our finite lives. Also, if humans lived forever, they wouldn’t be happy all the time, and they would lose their morality and pursue pleasure to solve the boredom of eternal life. Finally, if humans were to live forever, the earth would not be able to support the entire human race living without dying.
Humanity must not make the mistake of abandoning the path to true happiness in life and choosing the path of eternal life, which is a lifetime of living in the bondage of desire. For humans, death is not something to be feared, but a deadline to organize their lives. To live an original life, to organize one’s life quietly, without fear of the coming death, is the path to an existential and happy life. Homo sapiens, or human beings, are in the process of transcending their own limitations. In the process of overcoming our limitations, we will have to consider what true happiness is.
In many ways, technological advances have made our lives easier and opened up new possibilities. For example, advances in medicine have extended life expectancy, giving many people more time to live. However, these advances haven’t always had positive consequences. While medical advances have made organ transplants possible, they have also created new social problems, such as organ trafficking. Similarly, if technology is developed to enable eternal life, it will bring with it new ethical and social issues.
The scientific discussion of the possibility of eternal life is very complex, and it involves many different disciplines, including biology, medicine, philosophy, and ethics. For example, the telomere theory argues that eternal life could be possible by preventing cells from aging. However, opponents argue that telomere lengthening could increase the risk of diseases such as cancer. These debates show that advances in science and technology are always a double-edged sword.
We also need to consider the impact on human emotional and psychological health. Having eternal life means living in the infinity of time. For many people, this can lead to emotional anxiety and depression. Humans are wired to find meaning, set goals, and live within a limited amount of time. Eternal life would change this essential human trait, and this could have negative consequences.
In conclusion, the possibility of eternal life is not just a technical issue, but requires deep reflection on the nature of humanity and the meaning of life. We need to think carefully about how technological advances will change our lives and be prepared to address the ethical and social issues that arise. True happiness for humanity will be found in living a meaningful life, not just prolonging life.
