The Secret Pact: People have agreed to die; it's best not to discuss it.
In chapter 3 of his book, Why Die?: A Beginner's Guide to Living Forever, Herb Bowie writes about the fear of death and the secret pact that many of us have made (often unconsciously) with the Grim Reaper. As he points out, any informed discussion of immortality will necessarily lead to a discussion of death.
Indeed, any discussion of optimal health, "successful" aging, healthy life extension and cryonic suspension inevitably brings up the subject of death. If people are not comfortable with a discussion on the subject of death, they will not be comfortable discussing any of these aforementioned subjects.
But how does one get comfortable with a frank and open discussion of death? By becoming familiar with it. By getting informed about it. By encouraging others to talk openly about it. To these ends, one can usefully carve up the subject of death into four parts:
1. The Reality of Death
2. The Necessity of Death
3. The Finality of Death
4. The Inevitability of Death
Is death real?
The immortalist would say "yes." Others would say: "no, a part of us survives death." These issues come into play: materialism v. dualism, materialism v. spiritualism and naturalism v. supernaturalism.
Is death necessary?
The immortalist would say "no." Others would say: "yes, because death is a blessing, because death makes room for future generations, because death prevents boredom, a depletion of resources and overpopulation ... and you would be selfish to think otherwise."
Is death final?
The immortalist would say "yes." Others would say: "no, a part of us enters heaven (or hell) or reincarnates." In the minds of many, the issues of pain, suffering, judgment and damnation are associated with the finality of oblivion.
Is death inevitable?
The immortalist would say "no." Others would say: "yes, death is inevitable, and there is nothing anyone of us can do about it." This question touches on the feasibility of engineering infinite life spans and the fate of humanity in the universe.
These four topics on the subject of death provide a comprehensive framework for the study and discussion of death. They also provide a hint at a definition of an immortalist: "one who assumes that death is real, but not necessary; final, but not inevitable."
These four topics also contain the seeds for constructing an integrated, comprehensive worldview with potential for penetrating the cultures of the world with the immortalist viewpoint. Properly cultivated, these topics can also serve to educate and enlighten.
Are you comfortable discussing death openly? If so, have you been discussing it lately? If not, why not? Is it perhaps because you've made a secret pact with the Grim Reaper?
The Immortalist Declaration (Version 1.0)
I hereby declare that death is real, but not necessary; final, but not inevitable.