None of these benefits stands up to scrutiny.
I disagree. These benefits make sense from a humanist point of view as well as Christian. I know a 90 year old man - extremely healthy and very sharp, who will vouch for the first one listed. He simply no longer has the interest in anything he once did. All points Kass makes here can be supported with ease.
Where Kass goes wrong is in wanting to control people's actions in striving toward immortality. If the God he believes in is the God of the Christian bible, does he really think that God will allow this endeavor to go one millimeter past where he wants it to go? It is a classic case of barking up the wrong tree. This tree (human-created immortality) is not the tree of God, ergo it is the wrong tree, and it is far too tall to ever make it to the top. Anyone attempting the climb will fall down in every attempt, and hopefully eventually turn his attention to the right tree, the "Tree of Life", and find true immortality. No different than any other endeavor born from misplaced energy - just another lesson to be learned.
Don't try to stop people from learning lessons, unless they impose upon another person's right to learn his own lesson.
Then do bring on the arguments to support them! "You just said he's right because _", but you did not fill in the blank.
I know a 90 year old man - extremely healthy and very sharp, who will vouch for the first one listed.He simply no longer has the interest in anything he once did.
--- I know a 94 year old man who loves to live and exercise vigorously, he is an iconic figure, you may have heard about him! However, one's own experience (n=1) a valid theory does not make.
No death, no meaning
--- No God, no meaning I would agree. No death, no meaning? Never. Think about it that way: WHATEVER you do it has no meaning, because eventually you die, whether you were a murderer, pedophile and rapist, a pastor or monk. Where's the meaning?
Interest and engagement: The pleasures of life wouldn't increase proportionately to years, Kass believes. "Would professional tennis players really enjoy playing 25% more games of tennis?" he asks
--- The shelf-life of professional player is already short enough, you can't even make money all your life with the sport, no matter how much you love it. If you understood one's passion for sport you would not say that. Do you do any serious sports? Do you know the feeling a heavy deadlift gives you - I could enjoy that, maybe not forever, but I'd prefer to enjoy it longer than just decades. BTW without transhumanism world record progression comes to a halt and professional sport becomes boring.
Seriousness and aspiration: We can't aspire or be serious without (ahem) a deadline, he says
--- The deadline is still here and it is more serious then ever: Neutron decay and heat death is a paramount problem!
Beauty and love: Like a sunset, Kass suggests, life is beautiful because it has an ending!
--- Repetition a point does not make.
Virtue and moral excellence: Mortality means that we can give our lives to higher causes, says Kass
--- lovely, I really love this argument! Can you image how much more noble it is when a quasi-immortal person gives his or her life for someone else?
Ok, now it's your turn.
PS: I sincerely thank you for your tolerance, something he and many others lack.
"Don't try to stop people from learning lessons, unless they impose upon another person's right to learn his own lesson."
Edited by kismet, 30 August 2008 - 01:33 PM.