Is immortality a good or a bad thing?

Discuss the February 2017 Book of the Month, The Diary of an Immortal by David J Castello.
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Wasif Ahmed
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Is immortality a good or a bad thing?

Post by Wasif Ahmed »

The posts on this forum show that many people would like to become immortal while some don't. Is immortality, according to you, a good or a bad thing?
Please share your thoughts on this topic.
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Post by Sindhu Srinath »

This is a hard question for me to answer. Many might know the story the Goddess Eos asking for immortality for her lover, Tithonus, but forgot to ask for eternal youth from Zeus. Because of this, Tithonus became older and older and couldn't die. So, is eternal youth more important than immortality? But, sometimes I feel that we need to experience lifestyles of all age groups. Yes, immortality is a fascinating thing to wish for, but I'm sure it'll come with a price.
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Post by papaya12 »

I think that immortality is an idea that sounds cool but in reality isn't. But this depends on whether you are the only immortal person in the world. If everyone was immortal I think it would be great.
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Post by Heidi M Simone »

I think it depends on a few things.
  • 1) The type of person (greedy vs. kind)
    2) How will it affect our environment? Will Earth become overpopulated if many were given the choice? (not enough resources)
    3) Quality of life for those who are not mentally stable and others.
    4) Religion - people were not created to live forever on Earth.
Very challenging question indeed. :eusa-think:
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Post by Wasif Ahmed »

hsimone wrote:I think it depends on a few things.
  • 1) The type of person (greedy vs. kind)
    2) How will it affect our environment? Will Earth become overpopulated if many were given the choice? (not enough resources)
    3) Quality of life for those who are not mentally stable and others.
    4) Religion - people were not created to live forever on Earth.
Very challenging question indeed. :eusa-think:
Thanks @hsimone. ?
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Post by Julie Ditton »

Swara Sangeet wrote:This is a hard question for me to answer. Many might know the story the Goddess Eos asking for immortality for her lover, Tithonus, but forgot to ask for eternal youth from Zeus. Because of this, Tithonus became older and older and couldn't die. So, is eternal youth more important than immortality? But, sometimes I feel that we need to experience lifestyles of all age groups. Yes, immortality is a fascinating thing to wish for, but I'm sure it'll come with a price.

To quote Rumple/Gold in Once Upon a Time,
All magic comes with a price.
Would the price be eternal old age, outliving your loved ones or maybe just boredom. All of life would be "Been there, done that. "

For each immortal bad guy, there would probably be an immortal good guy to balance things out. At least there usually is in literature and media.
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Post by The Researcher »

It totally depends on the kind of person one is. Suppose a person is very emphatic and a healer and does not mind living eternally and also in a kind of solitude which comes when one has seen eons while other just running through years that it is a good thing as the person can learn on many human life cycles and can incorporate the knowledge ob betterment of future races of homosapiens. This also holds true for true saints who are detached from the world and learn from observation and exploration. But for someone who is in love with life for its variety, the love that comes from strong attachments and need stability in form of relations it might not be good.
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Post by gali »

As others said, it depends on the character of the person and the quality of life.
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Post by Annelore Trujillo »

I personally think immorality is a bad thing. We aren't meant to be immortal. I know I personally would not want to be. I think as humans we have a fear of dying, so immortality seems like a better option. In most religions (not sure who all is religious) we actually are immortal in a sense. Our bodies don't live forever, but our spirits do. So in a spiritual sense I think it's good, but I wouldn't want to stay living on earth forever.

Sorry for such a long-winded answer!
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Post by Sarah_Khan »

As many have said before, I think it depends on many things. Personally, I think people who do not believe in an afterlife would be drawn towards a life of immortality more so than a person whose thoughts or beliefs make them acknowledge a life after this life.
But also, someone who is religious and believes in an afterlife could be attracted to the thought of immortality because then they do not need to go through any judgement.
Either way, there are pros and cons. :P
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Post by Wasif Ahmed »

anneloretrujillo wrote:I personally think immorality is a bad thing. We aren't meant to be immortal. I know I personally would not want to be. I think as humans we have a fear of dying, so immortality seems like a better option. In most religions (not sure who all is religious) we actually are immortal in a sense. Our bodies don't live forever, but our spirits do. So in a spiritual sense I think it's good, but I wouldn't want to stay living on earth forever.

Sorry for such a long-winded answer!
I totally agree with you. ? Thanks for sharing your views with us.
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Post by srm628 »

I think it is a bad thing. Regardless of the good things you could do, you would be alone for so long, as you would stop trying to get close to people, knowing that they will just die.
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Post by dhwanis »

I feel it is good....as long as everyone around you is immortal as well....if that is not the case...then I feel it is bad as what is the point of living a life seeing everyone you love leave the planet..
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Post by greenstripedgiraffe »

I feel that God has put eternity into our hearts. God is eternal, immortal, and we are made in His image. However, due to wickedness in the world, God has limited our life spans - But, we still all have that yearning for immortality. So, we come up with immortality stories, legends, myths, what have you. Vampires, zombies, serums - it's all part of this search for immortality. As with anything like that, though- there are goods and bads.
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Post by Wasif Ahmed »

dhwanis wrote:I feel it is good....as long as everyone around you is immortal as well....if that is not the case...then I feel it is bad as what is the point of living a life seeing everyone you love leave the planet..
If everyone becomes immortal, won't the earth become too overcrowded in just a couple of years?
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