Transhumanism & The Torture of Immortality

The invention of religion primarily eased the inevitability of death. As our lives unfolded, experiencing our own demise was a rather scary realization. There was nothing we could do other than developing elaborate comforting narratives for the unknown. This is how religious stories came to be.

We like to entertain the thought that Renaissance liberated us from the shackles of Religion. Our torment though was never spiritual but biological. Our brain evolution enslaved us. Reproduction, the primary immortal mechanism that seems to satisfy all other organisms, became inadequate for homo-sapiens.

Religion and philosophy exist because humans die. Transhumanism came to the scene for much the same reason. The only difference with the previous two human enquiries is that it came to replace the abstract ideological narrative with a conceptual material application.

Up in close examination, transhumanism is almost identical to Religion. The flawed human body seeks liberation from its own prison. Our thirst for perfection is never quenched. The immutable belief that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations by the means of science and technology is no different than trying to transcend from the flawed physical material to the mechanical and eternal. In essence, Religion 2.0.

I consider myself a polyatheist — there are many Gods I don't believe. Nonetheless, I have noticed a strong trend from people in neoatheist circles towards this transhumanism trend that I often come to disagree. My argument is that they have substituted one belief with another without even realizing it. No matter how much we proud ourselves for being atheists, we all believers to at least something.

There is really no reason a human being would wish to live forever nor we have any evidence that it is attainable. All the research in the field is nothing more than overhyped claims — no different than the blind belief a religious person has towards the claims of a holy books. The atheist has substituted the blind belief towards the pastor towards that of a scientist. In both cases, there is little information known. All ideas are build upon anecdotal evidence.

Have you considered eating just pizza for a week? How about a month? A year? How about eating the same pizza for 50 years? How about playing the same video game until you die? Not many people are able to properly rationalize the implications of such an act. This is also the primary reason most people are naively wishing for immortality.

When it comes to perceiving time our brains give up. Time is not only extremely relative but also elusive to the human experience. Our quest toward immortality is nothing more than a naive self-misunderstanding. If we did realize what it means to live forever we would never wish or pursue it.

We seek change and variety. This is after all the only absolute truth of the universe. Everything changes, always. Nonetheless, we like to entertain the idea of the eternal without realizing the magnitude of the torture that is entailed. In eternity, a prison's size is irrelevant. It does not matter if it is 5x5 meters or 5x5 light years. Eventually, everything will feel like eating the same pizza, over and over again — forever. No need to worry though. Immortality is contra to existence.