I would disagree with the proposition that people are in any way actually OK with death. I don’t think the problem is that people are at peace with death too much; instead, it’s an issue that people are so afraid of death that they don’t talk or even think realistically about it at all. The quotes you listed above sound like people were speaking hypothetically; if they were in an actual situation where their life was medically threatened but an intervention would likely save them I’m sure they would take the intervention without much consideration (barring depression). Instead, I believe the fear of death is so great, rational thinking about it is pushed aside. It’s worse than Stockholm Syndrome, it’s learned helplessness. People don’t buy cryonics plans for the same reason they don’t buy life insurance in the first place or even write a will, in that they’re procrastinating in putting together concrete plans for something that makes them feel extremely uncomfortable.
The cryonics specific sales pitch doesn’t have any happy early adopters running around saying “Thank Hanson I signed up! A cure was right around the corner, just 3 years away from being on the open market. If I hadn’t enrolled I’d be...DEAD!” We’re obviously not at that point yet, but if a Peter Thiel (to pull a name out of the air) were to use cryonics and successfully return to the land of the thawed, a hypothetical would become an actual, and people would become much more interested.
I would disagree with the proposition that people are in any way actually OK with death. I don’t think the problem is that people are at peace with death too much; instead, it’s an issue that people are so afraid of death that they don’t talk or even think realistically about it at all.
It would be pleasant to me if this were true, but the talk I hear from some sources is actively pro-death. (Specifically, the “But fading into darkness will be so nice” and “I look forward to the Next Thing” camps of thought.) That is to say, when I bring up cryonics, the thought is actively abhorrent to these people. They profess quite strongly to prefer dying to cryonic preservation because having a frozen, inactive brain will stop their Soul from Departing. So… I can’t tell if this is just really, really powerful belief in self-deception. The sentiment feels believed to me, which is what’s so concerning.
I agree strongly with your last point, and am having trouble with how to express that agreement, so we’ll leave it there. (Augh, words!)
People don’t buy cryonics plans for the same reason they don’t buy life insurance in the first place or even write a will
I’m not so sure about that. I mean, a LOT more people have an insurance plan than have a cryonics plan. I would agree that the truth of death is so terrible that people develop a complex set of thoughts and behaviors to insulate themselves from this terror. Naturally, they do not want to re-decision this over and over and suffer that pain, so we may even be resentful of the idea that someone thinks that they are not going to die. I think this is part of whats happening in cryonics. But to a larger extent I think people are skeptical of cryonics working, on a number of different levels.
That’s true, my original statement is too broad. To your point, that people are skeptical of cryonics in general, I am in complete agreement, and that’s what I was trying to get at in my final point.
I would disagree with the proposition that people are in any way actually OK with death. I don’t think the problem is that people are at peace with death too much; instead, it’s an issue that people are so afraid of death that they don’t talk or even think realistically about it at all. The quotes you listed above sound like people were speaking hypothetically; if they were in an actual situation where their life was medically threatened but an intervention would likely save them I’m sure they would take the intervention without much consideration (barring depression). Instead, I believe the fear of death is so great, rational thinking about it is pushed aside. It’s worse than Stockholm Syndrome, it’s learned helplessness. People don’t buy cryonics plans for the same reason they don’t buy life insurance in the first place or even write a will, in that they’re procrastinating in putting together concrete plans for something that makes them feel extremely uncomfortable.
The cryonics specific sales pitch doesn’t have any happy early adopters running around saying “Thank Hanson I signed up! A cure was right around the corner, just 3 years away from being on the open market. If I hadn’t enrolled I’d be...DEAD!” We’re obviously not at that point yet, but if a Peter Thiel (to pull a name out of the air) were to use cryonics and successfully return to the land of the thawed, a hypothetical would become an actual, and people would become much more interested.
It would be pleasant to me if this were true, but the talk I hear from some sources is actively pro-death. (Specifically, the “But fading into darkness will be so nice” and “I look forward to the Next Thing” camps of thought.) That is to say, when I bring up cryonics, the thought is actively abhorrent to these people. They profess quite strongly to prefer dying to cryonic preservation because having a frozen, inactive brain will stop their Soul from Departing. So… I can’t tell if this is just really, really powerful belief in self-deception. The sentiment feels believed to me, which is what’s so concerning.
I agree strongly with your last point, and am having trouble with how to express that agreement, so we’ll leave it there. (Augh, words!)
I’m not so sure about that. I mean, a LOT more people have an insurance plan than have a cryonics plan. I would agree that the truth of death is so terrible that people develop a complex set of thoughts and behaviors to insulate themselves from this terror. Naturally, they do not want to re-decision this over and over and suffer that pain, so we may even be resentful of the idea that someone thinks that they are not going to die. I think this is part of whats happening in cryonics. But to a larger extent I think people are skeptical of cryonics working, on a number of different levels.
That’s true, my original statement is too broad. To your point, that people are skeptical of cryonics in general, I am in complete agreement, and that’s what I was trying to get at in my final point.