Initially, I had intended to write this book in the summer of 2006. At that time, my involvement in the Life Extension Movement was growing, my enthusiasm was palpable; trusted friends and colleagues urged me to undertake the project, noting that it would give momentum to a nascent movement that was a mere blip on the political radar screen and bring needed attention to an issue that many thought might never be discussed seriously in a society that considers death an unpleasant but inevitable reality. Even though I agreed with this analysis, I managed to avoid any serious attempt to start a far-reaching debate on the political, social, and economic consequences of radically extending one’s life into the future. After all, I thought, the technology in this field is still at a nascent stage, antiaging research receives few government grants, controversy abounds in the scientific community as to the mere possibility of indefinite life extension; most elected officials are clueless about it and even a majority of the President’s Council on Bioethics is hostile to the idea. But that being said, I never was one to back down from a good fight. I had read much of the scientific work undertaken by a multitude of scientists determined to understand how and why human beings slowly age, and how we can reverse our demise and extend our lives indefinitely. I disagreed with the naysayers who pompously declare that prolonging life will ruin the environment, cause overpopulation, promote wars over scarce resources, as well as those narrow-minded, quasi—pundits who embraced a number of bogus charges and half-truths intended to impede further research into the causes of the terminal disease of aging. I had more than enough evidence to confront the critics, but for some unknown reason, I lost the internal primal spark necessary to fight back. I thought, should I enter a battle that few know about and even fewer care? Instead of hearing a clarion call to act, I became mired in skepticism, doubt and a growing resignation toward terminal apathy. ...

Blake is told he'll live forever, he knows he's going to die soon, but how many times he will die that day he doesn't know... and other stories

An enlightening look into the medical, cultural, religious and philosophical implications of life extension.

Have you lost your way? Do you wonder who you are and why you are here? Have you got tangled up in everyday life and lost your connection to the Spiritual? Forever You takes you on a reflective journey about life, love, infinity, spirituality, personal growth and faith. In the face of eternity, we are forever young forever learning, and forever evolving. The secret of a happy life lies in being grounded on Earth whilst acknowledging ones history as a Soul and ones connection to the Other Side, our true Home. Empower your life by gaining insight, inspiration, and gratitude for life, regardless of any challenges that may exist at present. In this practical and accessible book Marii explains how to: use powerful techniques to reconnect with your inner core develop and nurture a positive and loving relationship with yourself and others release negative thinking that is a residue from bad experiences and disappointments see the bigger picture tap into your clairvoyant abilities to heal your life

This is a book about living immortals in their own words. People who are hundreds if not thousands of years old and living in our world today. Their commentaries come from a discussion board I have been using for a couple of years to market my earlier book: Physical Immortality: A History and How to Guide There are over twelve distinct immortal personalities who posted on this board and they all have different perspectives on their lives as immortals. One of the main characters on the site said this about the immortals: “I have met over 170 other immortals dating from 20,000 years old to 110 years old, from around Earth. Gods are in another league. I have met 15 Gods/Godesses …. most are norce/celtic Gods.” “There is at least 2000 of us out of your 7billion humans doing the exact same as me ie jobs/names some still hide in mountans and forests.” Do I believe all of this? I do have some skepticism, but even if it’s not true it is a great story. If true—it is one of the greatest revelations of all time

Improvements in health care in the 21st century mean people are living longer, but with the paradox that chronic illness is increasingly prevalent. Dementia, a term used to describe various different brain disorders that involve a loss of brain function that is usually progressive and eventually severe, is a condition associated with an ageing population and is becoming increasingly common. Worldwide there are approximately 25 million people with dementia, expected to rise to 63 million by 2030, and 114 million by 2050. Inevitably, people living with dementia will die, but their needs at the end of life are not well known. This book describes what might be achieved if the values and best practice of both dementia care and palliative care are brought together, to achieve quality end of life care for this specific group of patients. It explores what is known about the experience of dying with dementia, using a narrative approach, and develops a model that draws together a 'person-centered' approach to care. The book examines the possibiities and the challenges faced when trying to improve quality of life for people with dementia, and presents examples of good practice from across the world.

In this thought-provoking book, Peter Moore examines the often overlooked issues concerning human mortality, the fragile ways in which the dead can be said to “live on” in earthly terms: through their children, their work, the memories of others, their possessions, and even their bodies. Such earthly immortalities raise a host of fascinating questions about our attitudes toward life, and toward the world we leave behind us when we die. To what extent does the meaning we find in our lives depend upon the assumption there will always be a new generation to continue the human adventure? What would it be like if science were able to extend life indefinitely, and is this something already enshrined in the doctrine of reincarnation? Can we solve our anxieties about mortality by learning that life is worth living precisely because we do not live forever? In a generous and eloquent account, these and more are the questions Earthly Immortalities seeks to answer.

This book explores the ways in which the body is sacred in Western medicine, as well as how this idea is played out in questions of life and death, of the autopsy and of the meanings attributed to illnesses and disease. Ritual and religious modifications to, and limitations on what may be done to the body raise cross cultural issues of great complexity philosophically and theologically, as well as sociologically - within medicine and for health care practitioners, but also, as a matter of primary concern for the patient. The book explores the ways in which medicine organises the moral and the immoral, the sacred and the profane; how it mediates cultural concepts of the sacred of the body, of blood and of life and death.

Throughout history mankind has struggled to reconcile itself with the inescapability of its own mortality. This book explores the themes of immortality and survivalism in contemporary culture, shedding light on the varied and ingenious ways in which humans and human societies aspire to confront and deal with death, or even seek to outlive it, as it were. Bringing together theoretical and empirical work from internationally acclaimed scholars across a range of disciplines, Postmortal Society offers studies of the strategies adopted and means available in modern society for trying to ‘cheat’ death or prolong life, the status of the dead in the modern Western world, the effects of beliefs that address the terror of death in other areas of life, the ‘immortalisation’ of celebrities, the veneration of the dead in virtual worlds, symbolic immortality through work, the implications of understanding ‘immortality’ in chemical-neuronal terms, and the apparent paradox of our greater reverence for the dead in increasingly secular, capitalist societies. A fascinating collection of studies that explore humanity’s attempts to deal with its own mortality in the modern age, this book will appeal to sociologists, anthropologists, philosophers and scholars of cultural studies with interests in death and dying.

If you could live forever, would you want to? Both a fascinating look at the history of our strive for immortality and an investigation into whether living forever is really all it’s cracked up to be. A fascinating work of popular philosophy and history that both enlightens and entertains, Stephen Cave investigates whether it just might be possible to live forever and whether we should want to. He also makes a powerful argument that it’s our very preoccupation with defying mortality that drives civilization. Central to this book is the metaphor of a mountaintop where one can find the Immortals. Since the dawn of humanity, everyone – whether they know it or not—has been trying to climb that mountain. But there are only four paths up its treacherous slope, and there have only ever been four paths. Throughout history, people have wagered everything on their choice of the correct path, and fought wars against those who’ve chosen differently. In drawing back the curtain on what compels humans to “keep on keeping on,” Cave engages the reader in a number of mind-bending thought experiments. He teases out the implications of each immortality gambit, asking, for example, how long a person would live if they did manage to acquire a perfectly disease-free body. Or what would happen if a super-being tried to round up the atomic constituents of all who’ve died in order to resurrect them. Or what our loved ones would really be doing in heaven if it does exist. We’re confronted with a series of brain-rattling questions: What would happen if tomorrow humanity discovered that there is no life but this one? Would people continue to please their boss, vie for the title of Year’s Best Salesman? Would three-hundred-year projects still get started? If the four paths up the Mount of the Immortals lead nowhere—if there is no getting up to the summit—is there still reason to live? And can civilization survive? Immortality is a deeply satisfying book, as optimistic about the human condition as it is insightful about the true arc of history.