In biology, individual self-preservation is a emergent subsidiary goal—what is really important is genetic self-preservation.
Organisms face a constant trade-off—whether to use resources now to reproduce, or whether to invest them in self-perpetuation—in the hope of finding a better chance to reproduce in the future.
Calorie restriction and cryonics are examples of this second option—sacrificing current potential for the sake of possible future gains.
Organisms face a constant trade-off—whether to use resources now to reproduce, or whether to invest them in self-perpetuation—in the hope of finding a better chance to reproduce in the future.
Evolution faces this trade-off. Individual organisms are just stuck with trade-offs already made, and (if they happen to be endowed with explicit motivations) may be motivated by something quite other than “a better chance to reproduce in the future”.
Organisms choose—e.g. they choose whether to do calorie restriction—which diverts resources from reproductive programs to maintenance ones. They choose whether to divert resources in the direction of cryonics companies as well.
I’m not disputing that organisms choose. I’m disputing that organisms necessarily have reproductive programs. (You can only face a trade-off between two goals if you value both goals to start with.) Some organisms may value self-preservation, and value reproduction not at all (or only insofar as they view it as a form of self-preservation).
In biology, individual self-preservation is a emergent subsidiary goal—what is really important is genetic self-preservation.
Organisms face a constant trade-off—whether to use resources now to reproduce, or whether to invest them in self-perpetuation—in the hope of finding a better chance to reproduce in the future.
Calorie restriction and cryonics are examples of this second option—sacrificing current potential for the sake of possible future gains.
Evolution faces this trade-off. Individual organisms are just stuck with trade-offs already made, and (if they happen to be endowed with explicit motivations) may be motivated by something quite other than “a better chance to reproduce in the future”.
Organisms choose—e.g. they choose whether to do calorie restriction—which diverts resources from reproductive programs to maintenance ones. They choose whether to divert resources in the direction of cryonics companies as well.
I’m not disputing that organisms choose. I’m disputing that organisms necessarily have reproductive programs. (You can only face a trade-off between two goals if you value both goals to start with.) Some organisms may value self-preservation, and value reproduction not at all (or only insofar as they view it as a form of self-preservation).
Not all organisms choose—for example, some have strategies hard-wired into them—and others are broken.