Transcript The Ethics of Cryonics: - Terasem Movement, Inc.

The Ethics of Cryonics:
Why the Future Probably Does Need You
By Rudi Hoffman CFP® CLU ChFC®
Fourth Annual Colloquium on Futuristic Persons
December 9 and 10, 2008
Outline of talk
• 1. Definition of ethics
• 2. Some surprisingly bad examples of ethics
from historically venerated sources
3. Some recent ethics thought leaders
4. Ethics of cryonics, why you are worth saving
What is Ethics?
• ethics Noun, pl1. a code of behaviour, esp. of a
particular group, profession, or individual:
business ethics 2. the moral fitness of a decision,
course of action, etc. Noun the study of the moral
value of human conduct Collins Essential English
Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins
Publishers 2004, 2006
Example of Ethics from Moses
Numbers 31:13-18 (English Standard Version)
13Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation
went to meet them outside the camp. 14And Moses was angry with(A)
the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the
commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war.
15Moses said to them, "Have you(B) let all the women live?
16Behold,(C) these,(D) on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of
Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of(E) Peor,
and so(F) the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.
17Now therefore,(G) kill every male among the little ones, and kill every
woman who has known man by lying with him. 18But all the young
girls who have not known man by lying with him(H) keep alive for
yourselves.
5:33, The punishment of those
who wage war against Allah
and His Messenger, and strive
with might and main for
mischief through the land is:
execution, or crucifixion, or
the cutting off of hands and
feet from opposite sides, or
exile from the land: that is
their disgrace in this world,
and a heavy punishment is
theirs in the Hereafter;
8:12, I will instill terror into the
hearts of the unbelievers:
smite ye above their necks
and smite all their finger-tips
off them
Example of Ethics from Quran
Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57:
Narrated 'Ikrima:
“'Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire).'
I would have killed them according to the statement of
Allah's Apostle, 'Whoever changed his Islamic religion,
then kill him.'"
Example of Ethics from the Bible
Kill People Who Don't
Listen to Priests
Anyone arrogant enough to reject
the verdict of the judge or of
the priest who represents the
LORD your God must be put
to death. Such evil must be
purged from
Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:12
NLT)
Death for Fortunetelling
•
A man or a woman who acts as a medium or fortuneteller shall
be put to death by stoning; they have no one but themselves to
blame for their death. (Leviticus 20:27 NAB)
Death for Homosexuals
•
Kill Homosexuals
"If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall
be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited
their lives." (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)
Kill Witches
You should not let a sorceress live. (Exodus 22:17 NAB)
Death for hitting Dad
Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to
death. (Exodus 21:15 NAB)
Kill the Entire Town if One Person
Worships Another God
Suppose you hear in one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you that some
worthless rabble among you have led their fellow citizens astray by encouraging
them to worship foreign gods. In such cases, you must examine the facts
carefully. If you find it is true and can prove that such a detestable act has
occurred among you, you must attack that town and completely destroy all its
inhabitants, as well as all the livestock. Then you must pile all the plunder in the
middle of the street and burn it. Put the entire town to the torch as a burnt offering
to the LORD your God. That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be
rebuilt. Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction. Then the
LORD will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you. He will have
compassion on you and make you a great nation, just as he solemnly promised
your ancestors. "The LORD your God will be merciful only if you obey him and
keep all the commands I am giving you today, doing what is pleasing to
him." (Deuteronomy 13:13-19 NLT)
Kill Women Who Are Not Virgins On Their
Wedding Night
But if this charge is true (that she wasn't a virgin on her wedding night), and evidence
of the girls virginity is not found, they shall bring the girl to the entrance of her
fathers house and there her townsman shall stone her to death, because she
committed a crime against Israel by her unchasteness in her father's house. Thus
shall you purge the evil from your midst. (Deuteronomy 22:20-21 NAB)
Death for Blasphemy
Anyone who blasphemes the LORD's name must be
stoned to death by the whole community of
Israel. Any Israelite or foreigner among you who
blasphemes the LORD's name will surely
die. (Leviticus 24:10-16 NLT)
Death for People Who Work on Sunday
Yes, keep the Sabbath day, for it is holy. Anyone
who desecrates it must die; anyone who works on
that day will be cut off from the community. Work
six days only, but the seventh day must be a day
of total rest. I repeat: Because the LORD
considers it a holy day, anyone who works on the
Sabbath must be put to death.' (Exodus 31:12-15
NLT)
Modern Ethicists
•
Dr. Leon Kass on Ethics
"The human taste
for immortality, for
the imperishable and
the eternal, is not a
taste that the
biomedical conquest
of death could
•
satisfy.
We would
still be incomplete;
we would still lack
wisdom; we would
still lack God's
presence and
redemption."
Peter Singer
• One could look over
the past century and
ask oneself, has the
increased longevity
been good, bad or
indifferent?
Leon Kass
Peter Singer
My work is based on the
assumption that clarity
and consistency in our
moral thinking is likely,
in the long run, to lead us
to hold better views on
ethical issues.
New Deadly Sins?
“You offend God not only by
stealing, blaspheming or
coveting your neighbor's wife,
but also by ruining the
environment, carrying out
morally debatable scientific
experiments, or allowing genetic
manipulations which alter DNA
or compromise embryos.”
Ben Franklin’s View
In 1773 Benjamin Franklin wrote an oftquoted letter in response to Jacques
Dubourg. "I wish it were possible …to
invent a method of embalming drowned
persons, in such a manner that they
might be recalled to life at any period,
however distant; for having a very
ardent desire to see and observe the
state of America a hundred years hence,
I should prefer to an ordinary death,
being immersed with a few friends in a
cask of Madeira, until that time, then to
be recalled to life by the solar warmth of
my dear country! But…in all probability,
we live in a century too little advanced,
and too near the infancy of science, to
see such an art brought in our time to its
perfection"
Here is the answer. What is the
Question?
–“Yes,
absolutely”
Francis Fukuyama
Our Posthuman Future:
Consequences of the
Biotechnology Revolution,
Fukuyama argues that
biotechnology will lead to
radical inequality and poison
the political process.
Bill McKibben
“These are the most anti-choice
technologies anyone has ever
thought of.”
(Referring to Biotechnology,
Nanotech, and Robotics)
Billy Graham
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Calling Youth to Christ (1947)
America's Hour of Decision (1951)
I Saw Your Sons at War (1953)
Peace with God (1953, 1984)
Freedom from the Seven Deadly Sins
(1955)
The Secret of Happiness (1955, 1985)
Billy Graham Talks to Teenagers (1958)
My Answer (1960)
Billy Graham Answers Your Questions
(1960)
World Aflame (1965)
The Challenge (1969)
The Jesus Generation (1971)
Angels: God's Secret Agents (1975,
1985)
How to Live by Faith in an Uncertain
World
Aubrey De Grey
“Is It Safe For
A Biologist To
Support
Cryonics
Publicly?”
Is It Moral To Want to Live?
What about overpopulation?
Do you add more value to the
world than you take?
What if Einstein, Robert
Ingersoll, or Thomas Edison
were still alive and
productive?
Is Choosing Cryonics Ethical?
• Alternate use of funds?
• Compared to current lifeextending medical practices
• Through life insurance, money
to fund is created at time of
need, does not reduce
available assets
• Cost comparable to cup of
Starbucks coffee /day
Conclusion
1. You cannot base your ethical decisions on what
people allegedly said from a time when
technology was non-existent.
2. For authoritarian religionists to claim the moral
high ground, they must acknowledge that our
actual ethics comes from experience, not
scripture
3. Life is good, and a pre-requisite for doing good.
It follows that your life is probably worth the
affordable gamble of cryonics.