tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post900386769596178558..comments2023-10-28T06:49:31.452-05:00Comments on Max More's Strategic Philosophy: Why Catholics Should Support the Transhumanist Goal of Extended LifeMax Morehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09399507145120248307noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-72403204457279916802010-12-26T20:30:32.346-06:002010-12-26T20:30:32.346-06:00SwissWiss, I don't understand why you state th...SwissWiss, I don't understand why you state that we do nothing to bring about our birth or death. Birth is caused directly by actions (and inactions) on the part of parents. Death is made sooner or later by presence or absence of medical treatment and safety.<br /><br />If you are talking about individuals having no direct control of their own birth, that strikes me as irrelevant to an argument about whether humanity as a whole can develop technologies to delay death. It's not primarily a self-centered matter of extending one's own life, but of delaying the statistical incidence of death by enhancing medical technology.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-33255103894362944642010-12-16T20:45:17.923-06:002010-12-16T20:45:17.923-06:00Thanks for taking the effort to understand. The &q...Thanks for taking the effort to understand. The "incoherent" idea that Jef complains about reveals how easy it is to overlook the obvious--namely, we do nothing to bring about our birth. And regardless of developments in life extension technology, we do nothing to leave life (although we have a lot of control over how critical bodily functions are terminated). Thus, the mystery of human existence is an empirical data point that rationalists tend not to address. The irrationality of rationalism is a theme explored by G.K. Chesterton--a Catholic friend of H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw, a rationalist and sceptic respectively. Chesterton is well worth reading--and rereading--for those who wish to understand.SwissWisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11709470571671356278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-64706785691733968002009-10-03T21:21:02.984-05:002009-10-03T21:21:02.984-05:00I think some progressive catholics may endorse you...I think some progressive catholics may endorse your way of thinking, related to developing control over the aging process. However, orthodox catholics will probably not agree with your view, as they consider decay and death as natural and sacred.Miguel Antonio Cortés Muñozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032800011569954118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-59507698892678945262009-09-12T17:35:38.806-05:002009-09-12T17:35:38.806-05:00Max, nice essay but don't Catholics believe th...Max, nice essay but don't Catholics believe that the timing of an individual's birth and death reflect "God's Plan" for that person? If so, then wouldn't human emphasis on life extension tend to exclude proper execution of other aspects of that Plan?<br /><br />Shouldn't that be addressed?<br /><br />Incoherent, I know, but you're the one who chose to take on the thankless task of attempting to broaden a context whose coherence depends on its resistance to broadening.Jefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416828047961423292noreply@blogger.com