[note: still thinking somewhat abstractly, and unsure of my own actual values on this topic—my revealed and introspected preferences don’t scale very well to global, let alone future quantities. ]
One can feel intrinsic value in life, without particularly caring WHICH lives are being valued. Being pro-life (or pro-intelligent-experience, or pro-qualia-level-complexity, or many other similar formulations) does not require being anti-death. It just implies that one hopes that creation happens faster than cessation.
One of the reason for this type of conclusions is thinking in “far mode”, as was suggested by Robin Hanson. If we speak, say, about the perspective that “your grandmother will die tomorrow”, we start to think in near-term mode, and we don’t like death in near-term mode. But every death will be eventually in near-term mode.
I can only wish my grandmother was able to die tomorrow, instead of years ago. It’s sad when people die. But that’s selfish and wrong, and only sees part of the context.
Her death was also freeing to those of us still healthy and alive. The amount of expense and effort to keep them alive a bit longer was significant, and it was on balance best. I think it was accepted and freeing for her as well, but of course it’s impossible to tell.
Extending healthy, creative, productive portions of individual lives seems like a pure good to me. If it results in immortality, great! If not, that’s probably OK to. I think it’s a mistake to focus on death as the problem, rather than the decay and loss of dynamism that currently comes with aging.
No apology needed—I appreciate the summary, and it gives me the opportunity to clarify (and to think further; as I say, I don’t trust my intuitions here).
[note: still thinking somewhat abstractly, and unsure of my own actual values on this topic—my revealed and introspected preferences don’t scale very well to global, let alone future quantities. ]
One can feel intrinsic value in life, without particularly caring WHICH lives are being valued. Being pro-life (or pro-intelligent-experience, or pro-qualia-level-complexity, or many other similar formulations) does not require being anti-death. It just implies that one hopes that creation happens faster than cessation.
One of the reason for this type of conclusions is thinking in “far mode”, as was suggested by Robin Hanson. If we speak, say, about the perspective that “your grandmother will die tomorrow”, we start to think in near-term mode, and we don’t like death in near-term mode. But every death will be eventually in near-term mode.
I can only wish my grandmother was able to die tomorrow, instead of years ago. It’s sad when people die. But that’s selfish and wrong, and only sees part of the context.
Her death was also freeing to those of us still healthy and alive. The amount of expense and effort to keep them alive a bit longer was significant, and it was on balance best. I think it was accepted and freeing for her as well, but of course it’s impossible to tell.
Extending healthy, creative, productive portions of individual lives seems like a pure good to me. If it results in immortality, great! If not, that’s probably OK to. I think it’s a mistake to focus on death as the problem, rather than the decay and loss of dynamism that currently comes with aging.
If aging will be defeated in 2030 (say, by superinteligent AI), then surviving even in poor state is reasonable.
[edited]
Generics will be soon available
Ack. Sorry for the misrepresentation. Scrubbed that line of the post.
No apology needed—I appreciate the summary, and it gives me the opportunity to clarify (and to think further; as I say, I don’t trust my intuitions here).