Physical Immortality... on THIS Earth?

[Awani]

I was by chance listening to Kevin Smith talk about his heart attack today... and [I paraphrase from memory] he said in the moment of facing death he recalled a comic book where a soon-to-be-dead man said to the Grim Reaper: "Why me... it's not fair..."

The Grim Reaper replied: "Everyone gets a life."

So it is fair. We all get the same. Sure some get a long life, some get a short... regardless a short life can be more fulfilled than a long life. I think it is a beautiufl sentiment... and something that is good to consider daily. I often say I think of every day as my last... but I felt today that there is a difference between "thinking" that idea... and living that idea.

I am going to try and live it.

[Awani]

My perspective below to your points raised...

...the Absurd arises out of the fundamental disharmony between the individual's search for meaning and the meaninglessness of the universe...

There is nothing but meaning from my perspective.

...the act of ending one's existence only becomes more absurd.

I would agree. In most NDE accounts I have read the suicide "victim" is always doomed to "live again".

Kierkegaard stated that a belief in anything beyond the Absurd requires an irrational but perhaps necessary religious acceptance in such an intangible and empirically unprovable thing (now commonly referred to as a "leap of faith"). However, Camus regarded this solution, and others, as "philosophical suicide".

Camus, like Hamlet, belong in the same category of whiny bitches... LOL.

Life. Death. Love. Compassion. Freedom. To fully live and embrace such concept requires one thing: BALLS

Not saying I can fully live or embrace those positions, but I aim too... This brings me to Jesus, and my new found respect for this "character". To fully embrace Jesus outlook requires balls, big fucking balls... to love everyone is not weakness. To hate is weakness. Hate is easy.

I lived hate for a large part of my life. It was so easy.

Love. It is hard. So hard.

Trying to learn to speak a new language is very hard... but if you stick to it, eventually, you'll be fluent? Then you wonder, how did I ever not know it?

...by accepting the Absurd, one can achieve the greatest extent of one's freedom, and that by recognizing no religious or other moral constraints and by revolting against the Absurd while simultaneously accepting it as unstoppable, one could possibly be content from the personal meaning constructed in the process...

I think I go with Camus in this perspective... if I had to pick. However I do like aspects of Kierkegaard... and one summer when I was homeless (of my own accord) I spent a few nights or days sleeping by his tombstone. I think his last words were something like: "...sweep me up."

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It might sound weird but I think Nietzsche knew the game.

Nietzsche approaches the problem of nihilism as a deeply personal one, stating that this problem of the modern world is a problem that has "become conscious" in him... Whether man recovers from it, whether he becomes master of this crisis, is a question of his strength!" According to Nietzsche, it is only when nihilism is overcome that a culture can have a true foundation on which to thrive... - source

1. God is dead
2. Because God is dead, nihilism takes control unless one creates new values
3. One to create the new values will have to look beyond good and evil, as no one knows yet what is good and evil.
4. One who creates new values is called ubermensch (overman / superman)
5. A test against nihilism is ubermensch's understanding and acceptance of "the eternal return" - that even if life is the same, he conducts life joyously. Meaning self-similar life is preferable over non-existence.
6. The last man is the opposite of the ubermensch - The last man wants comfort and alms, whereas ubermensch seeks out hardship and creates new values. [= BALLS]
7. Nietzsche calls one to seek out hardship and pain, and also states that "all that is called evil by the good must come together so that the truth can be born."
8. Nietzsche said that only through hardship, one can achieve something great. Because of that Nietzsche thought that evading pain, like drinking alcohol or believing in a religion was the worst thing a person could do for himself. [that is why I base all my beliefs on direct experience, and take nothing at face value, and second hand direct experience if I cannot have it myself like NDE report for example... but scholars usually quote other peoples work that themselves quote first hand... the more scholar the less first hand... scholars are at best 3rd or 4th direct experience... yet have #1 respectability = scam]
9. Nietzsche was staunchly against nihilists. Be believed that it was a malady of soul to be a nihilist.
10. Nietzsche felt that those who are called 'good' were worse than the nihilists. That certainty of being 'good' meant that no new values or greatness can be created. Thus perpetuating the Last Man. - source

No one can really say what is right/wrong when discussing philosophy... unless you know the philosopher personally... not even then... but I think Nietzsche is totally misunderstood. I think he is a philosopher of joy, of empowerment... of love. He doesn't say "good" is bad... more what is good?

At one point in time where I live it was "good" to beat up homosexuals... now it is not "good"... When I was young it was "good", now when I am older it is not "good"... but I knew since I was born that it was "bad"... my value was outside society... and society caught up to me... in this example at least.

[Loki Morningstar]

I was by chance listening to Kevin Smith talk about his heart attack today... and [I paraphrase from memory] he said in the moment of facing death he recalled a comic book where a soon-to-be-dead man said to the Grim Reaper: "Why me... it's not fair..."

The Grim Reaper replied: "Everyone gets a life."

So it is fair. We all get the same. Sure some get a long life, some get a short... regardless a short life can be more fulfilled than a long life. I think it is a beautiufl sentiment... and something that is good to consider daily. I often say I think of every day as my last... but I felt today that there is a difference between "thinking" that idea... and living that idea.

I am going to try and live it.

I like Kevin Smith, cool guy. Got to love the film Dogma. The view askew universe is awesome. Hope he does some new films soon.

As for the idea of living every day as your last. Interesting concept I have always wondered about how someone goes about that in a healthy way.

[Loki Morningstar]

I think I go with Camus in this perspective... if I had to pick. However I do like aspects of Kierkegaard... and one summer when I was homeless (of my own accord) I spent a few nights or days sleeping by his tombstone. I think his last words were something like: "...sweep me up."

Yes this was one of my favourite parts also. I think this very much sums up my attitude.

What do you think he meant by it?

It might sound weird but I think Nietzsche knew the game.

He certainly did have some great ideas. I believe he inspired Jung too.

No one can really say what is right/wrong when discussing philosophy... unless you know the philosopher personally... not even then... but I think Nietzsche is totally misunderstood. I think he is a philosopher of joy, of empowerment... of love. He doesn't say "good" is bad... more what is good?

I agree regarding no one being able to say what is right or wrong. All that is important is what you take from it. I agree.
I mean I like listening to Radiohead, most people say they are depressing, I find them uplifting.

At one point in time where I live it was "good" to beat up homosexuals... now it is not "good"... When I was young it was "good", now when I am older it is not "good"... but I knew since I was born that it was "bad"... my value was outside society... and society caught up to me... in this example at least.

This is very much what I like about absurdism. It spawned other belief systems such as Discordianism. I think the sooner people just live and let live the sooner life will be better for all of us. Absurdism states that people should understand that there is no such thing as universal objective ethics, but they should still have integrity.

[Awani]

What do you think he meant by it?

Sweep me up = embrace me

I mean I like listening to Radiohead, most people say they are depressing, I find them uplifting.

That is true. And one of the best bands live as well.

[tAlchemist]

I think you all should watch more criminal-mastermind shows

Money is a big influence on people. If you have the elixir of life, you’re also probably smart enough to have a stone which transmutes lead into gold. And I think it’s only a few thousand grand to buy a new life, complete with documentation. Those same people producing the documentation probably aren’t opposed to taking gold and silver as payment.

The hardest part of this strategy, I believe, is coming up with a new name haha.

Didn't realize it was this easy to use cash to buy a new legit identity.

Isn't this more likely like... the human snake, no matter where you go, the traces of who you really are, are stored somewhere and always will be linked to you as long as there's this 'System' of 'whatever' to call it up and running?

To be more clear; If I go to the person and buy new documentation won't this person who works for whatever, keep a document of some sort that would likely be more private saying ''Jameson Charles, Jan 15, 1982 changed his identity to Lemon Squeezy June 4th, 1420'' i mean 1920

[Schmuldvich]

We're getting to that point with facial recognition, and drones, but we are not totally there yet; getting there though!

The foundation is being laid for no privacy and true anonymity, but we still have a few more years until it's nearly all gone.

Enjoy it while it lasts!

[Aspiring Alkemist]

I think immortality has been confused and conflated with very very long life. Just a thought.

[Martius]

There are those who point out that this present age of Kali Yuga will not last forever. Likewise figures like Evola hint that one purpose of a series of rebirths is that one has a mission to influence invents. As Wittgenstein said, we always make predictions about the future assuming history moves in a straight line. In fact it describes a slow curve we generally do not see. Yes, this (dis-) civilization is headed for disaster, whether fast or gradual. This does not mean that the disaster is the end. If one can take a hand, it might be worth sticking around.

[Warmheart]

Consider that you are not you.
Maybe its just one infinite life you already lived.
- Zhuangzi

It is cool that Zhuangzi had such dreams, it seems that he had a calm and lazy life, but modern people have to work hard for their food so their sleep is mostly devoid of dreams. It is like if oligarch would tell that everyone is rich and can dream about being rich.

This is also similar to notion "everyone is a God".

People can think of themselves as Gods, as those with infinite lives, immortal through their work, immortal through their children, immortal from all sides, superable megabeings. If that is so then why there is so much death, decay and wars made because of extremely primitive petty reasons?

I am afraid that humanity as a whole thinks like that, so instead of spending money to research how to prolong life (not by some pathetic 5-10-50 years, but making it last indefinitely long) and make bodies physically invulnerable, instead science is business now and most of money is spent on waging wars, while average modern slaves are being fed with crap like "everyone is already immortal, you are immortal through reincarnation, you are Gods" and similar deceptions.

I don't understand what might be hard about accepting that people are mortal and think what to do about that instead of spreading various fantasies. Life is extremely short to spend it on fantasy. Why invent various definition of immortality, when it can only mean one thing - not being mortal? It means, at very least, - to have continuous consciousness. Everything else, various other "versions" of immortality are just multiplications of lie. And aren't we on Alchemy forums, where one of the things people are aiming at is receiving Elixir of Life, which grants immortality? Seems that people aren't so inherently immortal even from Alchemical point of view as it requires a special preparations and is a big mystery, extremely high and heavily defended secret.