The Scientific Conquest of Death [Paperback]

Immortality Institute (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 2004

Nineteen scientists, doctors and philosophers share their perspective on what is arguably the most significant scientific development that humanity has ever faced - the eradication of aging and mortality. This anthology is both a gentle introduction to the multitude of cutting-edge scientific developments, and a thoughtful, multidisciplinary discussion of the ethics, politics and philosophy behind the scientific conquest of aging.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Libros en Red (October 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9875611352
• ISBN-13: 978-9875611351
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #989,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 82 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review: The Scientific Conquest of Death November 1, 2004

By Stephen Gordon

When I heard this summer that the Immortality Institute was publishing its first book, "The Scientific Conquest of Death: Essays on Infinite Lifespans," I asked for an advanced copy to review for the Speculist.

I was surprised and honored when Bruce Klein and Reason from FightAging emailed me a working draft. This was a valuable blog-lesson for me: ask and you shall (sometimes) receive.

I'm happy to report that the book is a complete success.

This book is a collection of essays divided into two parts: Science and Perspectives. The Science half of the book is written by scientists well-known to life extension enthusiasts: Aubrey de Grey, Michael West, Robert Freitas, Ray Kurzweil, and Marvin Minsky to name a few.

These authors work in different fields but share a vision of a future where degenerative aging is a choice - and a rather unpopular choice. For most of these scientists, it`s not so much a question of "if," but "when:"

We can no longer pretend that we know so little about how to cure aging that the timing of this advance will be determined overwhelmingly by future serendipitous discoveries: we are in the home straight already.

-Aubrey de GreyWhile I found the "Perspectives" half of the book a little slower going, ultimately it may prove to be more important than the first half.

While the authors of the Science section outline potential paths to the goal, the Perspective authors ask whether the goal is worthy. Will we be plagued by overpopulation or lethargy if death is removed from the picture?

The objections [to eternal youth] can be divided into two different categories: practical and philosophical.... Practical worries might include: the population problem, the problem of scarce resources and environmental pollution, eternal youth that is only available to the wealthy, the accumulation of too much wealth and power by an elite group of immortals...

A philosophical objection to life extension is the worry that the longer we lived, the less we would value our time. After all, a basic economic principle is that the value of a resource tends to increase the more scarce it is. Would we somehow value each moment less if we lived longer? Another worry that people may have is that a desire for life extension is somehow selfish. Perhaps budding immortals would become really self-centered and narcissistic?

-Marc GeddesTo its credit the Immortality Institute allowed debate on these issues. Several of the Perspective essayists are quite critical of the goal of life extension.

But if the authors of the Science portion the book are correct that radical life extension is coming, any philosophical arguments against life extension will ring hollow when it arrives. The Perspectives section is of greater value when it debates how to adapt our society to life extension, rather than whether we should pursue it.

The publication of this book is certainly a landmark for the Immortality Institute. The Institute should be proud of this accomplishment. More importantly, this book is a milestone in the quest for life extension. The depth of the bench here, the willingness of respected scientists to contribute to such a book, is an important development.

These contributors and others that follow can now investigate the possibility of radical life extension without the fear of being thought unserious. This alone could make all the difference.

(...) Read more ›

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview May 26, 2005

By Peter McCluskey

The first part of this book provides a good introduction to the medical arguments that provide hope that within a few decades everyone will be able to achieve the health needed to have a life expectancy of a millennium or more. It's less technical than I would like, but probably provides good enough references to enable the serious reader to find the more rigorous arguments that lead to these summaries.

In spite of the "Infinite Lifespans" in the subtitle, the book makes little attempt to ask whether we can avoid problems such as war, the heat death of the universe, etc.

The book is well organized for a collection of articles by 18 different authors.

The quality of the book goes downhill near the middle about where it switches to philosophical questions. Most of the arguments against really long lifespans that it attempts to refute are too superficial to deserve more than a few pages of rebuttal. I wish I had a quick way of determining whether there are better objections to long lifespans that the book failed to deal with.

Some specific complaints:

Max More correctly points out that people who use population concerns as a rationalization have given little thought to the relative importance of birth rates. But his claim that lifespan has no effect on population growth is almost as thoughtless. For birthrates less than 2 per couple, the difference between a fixed lifespan and an infinite lifespan is the difference between exponential decline and exponential growth. Whatever we assume about lifespans, achieving desirable and sustainable population growth rates seems like a nontrivial problem.

Marvin Minsky says "There is no sign that we are getting smarter" over the past two thousand years.... If the Flynn Effect isn't such a sign, it's hard to imagine what would be needed to qualify as a sign. (His chapter was written in 1994, so it may just be more out of date than the rest of the book). Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I've Read in Years!!! June 22, 2008

By L. Fowle

This book is amazing. From nanotechnology to the philosophy of extended lifespans to the future of medicine, there is so much great information in this book.

I recommend anyone who wants more out of life to buy this book. Its an easy read and the chapters are short and to the point enough to keep you wanting more.

5 stars! check out the website at [...] for more info on everything these people are doing to better the path of humankind.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Gods We Are! November 6, 2008

By D.R.Thomas

Amazon Verified Purchase

First and foremost, I must apologize for the elongated review, but this is a volatility that is subject to much dissension and divisiveness, so it is indeed congruous.

This book explicitly projects the abilities of the human mind and intellect that has allowed us to obtain the status of gods. Most people will dissent upon review of that previous statement, but it is not ineffable, so allow me to elucidate further. In life man has only the ancient scriptures and modern manifestations defining the abilities of the gods. Since those articles were scribed by our hands and elicited through our interpretation of life, it is facile to see that in reality we have no competition for what is a god. Our ascension to those constitutions is inevitable, be it by evolution or assisted biological manipulation or merging with our mechanical technology. Over the coarse of the next fifty years, human potential is vividly confined only by a mathematical equation that will allow us to be capable of abilities limited to the gods in the pages of our ancient and present day literature. For one to retort what I profess is only failing to realize the extrovert and analog powers/abilities/technologies we have already achieved: audible language, written language, mechanical technologies (cell phones, television, vehicles, manufacturing facilities, computers, automobiles, spaces shuttles, boats, planes, trains, etc.), artillery (guns, missiles, etc.), atomic bomb, genetic manipulation, terraforming, atmospheric manipulation, the social MACHINE (this nativity is what has been/will be conducive for all of the former and latter abilities), etc.... Unfortunately, what evokes lamentation for me is that there are few who realize the level of profundity and exponential acuity those endeavors required/will require for fruition. So, I will not concede that my perspective is equivocal. We have commandeered evolution and we will have the capitol on the sub-atomic/nanotechnologies that will allow us to alter the very fabric of nature. Is that not what the masses assumes that a god does?

In the initial chapter of the book, on page 9, The Immortality Institutes admonishes, "This is not a strict division, as scientific possibilities are the starting point for all philosophy, and, in turn, the scientists in this book are not blind of the philosophical implications of their work." These words are far too humble for the level of formidability that the ensuing pages draw forth. But, since this is a philosophical manifesto, do not the most salutary predications for politics, spirituality, economics, medicine, invention, etc. come from the elicitations of our society's philosophers? It is those who dare to extrapolate beyond conventional and archaic thought that challenges the elasticity of the human mind and the potential for what it can perceive. With the integration of our virtual foresights, these ideologies become of conventional conception and bears an endeavor by the very professionals who once gave those theoretical possibilities derision.

In truth, this manifesto redefines immortality in ways that I had not even fathomed. A myriad of possibilities for immortality are offered in this book utilizing certain technologies that we harbor and those which have a conception that is imminent, or on the linearity of theoretical possibility. These technologies range from nanotechnology, atomic technology, genetic manipulation, concrescence with computers/chips, downloading and mapping the firing of neurons and synapses, immortal biological cells (which exist), cryonics (as a vessel for time travel and preservation), brain transplant into a more ameliorated biological or mechanical machine, nanobots that replace the lungs and heart, creating an imaged computer program of your neural networks to theoretically simulate you, etc. The possibilities are nearly limitless to obtain an extension of our biological life and defer senescence. Amazingly enough, it is intriguing to see how many of these technologies already exist, but due to laws against human experimentation they cannot be implemented. The key to understanding this piece of literature is that the predication is merely biological immortality, meaning you will not die or age due to senescence, but you would still be prone to death by accident, murder or disease.

I hope that one, for the closed minded individual, would be able to keep an open mind about this read. The writers are not proletariats of society, they are degreed doctorates of multifarious disciplines, so that should aid one in understanding that this is a trek that is not limited to the desires of the intellectually impoverished, and, also one that will only get more fecundation. There are merely three laws of nature that obviate the physical manifestation of what we imagine: 1) fiscal indefiniteness, 2) a labyrinth of perplex mathematical equations, and, most importantly, 3) the intellect. This manifesto, along with others of commensurateness that identify the advancement of our mechanical and biological engineering, delivers a cacophony of truth to the archaic bigots of stagnation, and a sweet symphony of ornate spiritual scriptures for those who realize human potential. Call it fantasy. Call it hubris. Call it inane. Call it heresy. Call it crazy. Call it ostentation. Call it what you will, but the truth is that it is a movement that exists within the realm of our intellectual elite. Remain in a self-denying austere if you will, but the endeavor has an impetus that will be impeded by no resistance.

No matter the auspicious content I do retain a level of despondency when reference to overpopulation that would ensue. In the last section of the book there are essays that both rebut and exalt immortality. One of these is an essay that defends against the concern of overpopulation. If the technology became available to everyone the population would precipitously increase. The author offers quite an optimistic, somewhat, credible and logistically affirmed argument about population density, what means cause rapid reproduction and other varieties of defense. But, overpopulation would eventually be inevitable and soon pose a problem if we were still confined to colonization on Earth. However, if we were to have the ability to colonize other planets and live on advanced space vessels the Universe would be our domain, and we would need a life span equal to the vastness of it. Obviously, it would not be beneficial for everyone to have immortality or an extensive life span due to their moral, social and intellectual insolvency.

Inclosing, this is an amalgam of a multitude of essays from degreed men and women with an auspice that exponential life extension is on the horizon. Utilizing the representation of technology the Immortality Institute guides you through their reason for accepting the possibility of what we have thought, for far too long, to exist only in fables. This is an ephemeral read due to the end notes and bibliographies at the end of each essay, but imbues the reader that embraces the ideology that is the novel conception of immortality and its imminence. So if you are one that likes to read esoteric topics, considered unorthodox, and are among the free-thinkers of society, this book is definitely for you. However, if you are a religious bigot of archaic perspective, or have difficulty swallowing profundity that takes an intellectual to comprehend, then you may not want to endeavor here. Read more ›