THE MYTH ABOUT IMMORTALITY. FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT

• Main Author: Ruslan V. Klymenko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University Publishing 2018-06-01
• Series: Вісник Харківського національного університету імені В.Н. Каразіна. Серія Філософія, філософські перипетії
• Subjects: immortality; transhumanism; science; gerontology; immortalism; cryonics; genetic engineering; suicide
• Online Access: https://periodicals.karazin.ua/philosophy/article/view/11413/10949
• ISSN: 2226-0994; 2414-5904

The main goal of this article is the exploration of immortality as a process of not ending life. Different forms of immortality are analyzed: metaphysical, genetic, digital and individual ones. The author explored a phenomenon of immortality in culture, starting from an ancient times till today. The phenomenon of elixir of immortality is explored with his relation to different cultures: ancient Greek, ancient India, ancient Iran and ancient Germany. In all of those cultures we can see the same motives about immortality with a little of variation in form. For example, it may be some ‘magical drink’ like in case of Ambrosia in ancient Greece or it may be a food like Amrita in India or Chaoma in Iran. The accent is moved from negative to positive feeling of immortality. The examples of great historical individualities which spend their lives looking for a technology of immortality are listed. Among them author listed Quin Shi Huang Di, a Chinese emperor spent a lot of resources in search of eternal life. One more emperor of China – Xuanzong finished his life after experiments with an immortality elixir. In Europe this topic is discovered inside movement of Alchemists – semi-scientific activists which believed in enternal life. Isaac Newton, one of the creators of modern science also believed in immortality and spend a bunch of time looking for a way to achieve it. The physical possibility of eternal life is analyzed. According to Richard Feynman’s quote, there’s no physical limitation which make impossible an internal life. Transhumanists use and develop this theoretical possibility into practical solutions. The current state of development in a field of improvement of lifetime is explored in details. Some species of immortal animals are listed as an example of possibility of immortality. Author analyzes suicide as a back side of desire to have an eternal life.