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Technology and immorality vs religion and mortality
June 27, 2015 at 12:38 pm
We are close to solving the age old problem of morality. With that being said technology as of now we are using it to prolong our lives but
with technology as it currently we can prolong our lives. Given 15 to 25 years from now the problem of mortality will be solved. Now this is the part
were people like myself draw some concerns, and that would be with religion in whole by solving said problem of morality there will be people out there
saying what were doing is wrong even though it is a good thing. I just want to hear what fellow atheists and theists think about this.
http://www.livescience.com/6967-hang-25-...ality.html
http://listverse.com/2014/06/08/10-sci-f...mortality/
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2005/...technology
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RE: Technology and immorality vs religion and mortality
June 27, 2015 at 2:10 pm
I am not convinced that they will solve the problem of aging in that time. But supposing that they do, and supposing that it was universally available, it would be disastrous for the population problem. Right now, there are too many people, and this will only make matters worse, because people will not willingly stop breeding.
With greater populations, life is held to be cheap. Look at the most overpopulated counties now (e.g., China) and you will see that human life is not given a high value. That, and worse, is what we will be facing if the population continues to grow.
So, unless this comes with forced sterilization for those who get to be "25 forever," life will become a living hell for the vast majority of people. Just think how many children one couple could produce who are "25 forever," and you know that some religious nut jobs will reproduce like rabbits.
Additionally, one of the advantages of people dying off is that this aids in progress. Think of all the racist bigots from the past who are now dead, and think how society would be if they were still alive. If this sort of "immortality" comes to be, it will hold back progress.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
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Technology and immorality vs religion and mortality
June 27, 2015 at 2:53 pm
Only the rich elites will get this and they will be able to rule forever.
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RE: Technology and immorality vs religion and mortality
June 28, 2015 at 6:03 am
(This post was last modified: June 28, 2015 at 6:03 am by bennyboy.)
(June 27, 2015 at 2:53 pm)KUSA Wrote: Only the rich elites will get this and they will be able to rule forever.
Nah. Guillotines will always be stronger than pasty necks.
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RE: Technology and immorality vs religion and mortality
June 28, 2015 at 6:15 am
(June 27, 2015 at 12:38 pm)dyresand Wrote: Given 15 to 25 years from now the problem of mortality will be solved.
Even if this were to happen, what do you think would be the results? We would have a very small layer of rich near immortals and a sea of peasants dying like flies. Even now being poor warrants an earlier death sentence than being rich. Also, as pyrrho said, it opens a whole new can of wirms as far as population growth is involved. Some balance would have to be installed and that would most probably again feature rich nation vs poor nation, powerful nation vs weak nation. To the detriment of the latter of course.
So, if technology doesn't find ways to grow brains and empathy as well, the results of discovering immortality would be an all around disaster. Going by the state of our present civilization of course.
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RE: Technology and immorality vs religion and mortality
June 28, 2015 at 6:57 am
I will worry about it when we get there.
15-25 years is a naively optimistic prognosis - even if we're only talking about the rich elites attaining any form of "immortality" through technology. It's not like right now rich people live drastically longer lives. We're nowhere near solving some of the biggest problems of prolonged life - like cancers. We can not predict what other unexpected obstacles scientists may still encounter. And it's not unthinkable that some of those obstacles may be impossible to overcome.
People have been talking about flying cars and personal jet-packs since the 1950's. That seems like much simpler technology, with a popular appeal, and yet we're still stuck in traffic.
"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." - George Bernard Shaw
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RE: Technology and immorality vs religion and mortality
June 28, 2015 at 12:21 pm
(June 28, 2015 at 6:57 am)Homeless Nutter Wrote: I will worry about it when we get there.
15-25 years is a naively optimistic prognosis - even if we're only talking about the rich elites attaining any form of "immortality" through technology. It's not like right now rich people live drastically longer lives. We're nowhere near solving some of the biggest problems of prolonged life - like cancers. We can not predict what other unexpected obstacles scientists may still encounter. And it's not unthinkable that some of those obstacles may be impossible to overcome.
People have been talking about flying cars and personal jet-packs since the 1950's. That seems like much simpler technology, with a popular appeal, and yet we're still stuck in traffic.
We technically have flying cars already, the problem with flying cars is with the FAA. Imagine the chaos with flying cars.
Jet packs... well we sorta have that but again the chaos and the problem with the FAA. The FAA has issues with people having drones
so they will say no to flying cars maybe jet packs. All i am trying to say is with the elimination of morality and lets throw away the core issues
and look at it like so. If you have a form of being immortal this would have a affect on religion and its core beliefs. The beliefs being
death you go to either A or B heaven/hell, being immortal you bypass that and live.
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RE: Technology and immorality vs religion and mortality
June 28, 2015 at 1:01 pm
A life sentence would pretty much suck.
You make people miserable and there's nothing they can do about it, just like god.
-- Homer Simpson
God has no place within these walls, just as facts have no place within organized religion.
-- Superintendent Chalmers
Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things.
-- Ned Flanders
Once something's been approved by the government, it's no longer immoral.
-- The Rev Lovejoy
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RE: Technology and immorality vs religion and mortality
June 28, 2015 at 1:09 pm
(June 28, 2015 at 1:01 pm)IATIA Wrote: A life sentence would pretty much suck.
I mean it would and it wouldn't. If you are someone who doesn't want to die that its good then later in life when you get sick of everything you can turn it off.
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RE: Technology and immorality vs religion and mortality
June 28, 2015 at 1:12 pm
(This post was last modified: June 28, 2015 at 1:12 pm by IATIA.)
I was thinking imprisonment for life, but even a good life, how long would you really want to live? The heaven problem, what would you do for an eternity?
You make people miserable and there's nothing they can do about it, just like god.
-- Homer Simpson
God has no place within these walls, just as facts have no place within organized religion.
-- Superintendent Chalmers
Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things.
-- Ned Flanders
Once something's been approved by the government, it's no longer immoral.
-- The Rev Lovejoy
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