Risk averse imortalists? (was Re: [extropy-chat] re: embedded inopen hearts (Meta/EP))

[The Avantguardian]

--- Brett Paatsch <bpaatsch at bigpond.net.au> wrote:
> 
> How in practice is there a difference between the
> behaviour of an
> 'immortalist' that lives for an overwhelming love of
> life and one that 
> lives for a fear of death?

My point is that the behavior of the "love"
immortalists will be less risk averse (i.e.
risk-neutral or maybe risk-seeking) than that of
"fear" immortalists. For example, would you undergo a
hypothetical medical procedure that may, 50% kill you
immediately, or 50% allow you to age so slowly as to
live 1000 years? I would posit that the "love"
immortalists would be more likely to undergo such a
procedure.

 
> Provided that both have children I'm not sure that
> evolution could
> tell the difference. But at this stage its probably
> too early to tell.

I don't see how evolution is relevant to the
risk-handling psychology of immortalists. Are you
asking whether love or fear is a more evolutionarily
stable strategy? I was talking more on a smaller scale
over the lifetime of a single individual for example.


> Do you think the former is more likely to choose to
> die or to be 
> killed rather than give up on, or defect over,
> something that makes
> life worth living? If so, like what for instance?

I can imagine several situations. Self-determinism for
one thing. i.e. right to choose the path of ones own
life. For example the very right to be immortal in the
first place falls into this category. I think the
first few immortals (I actually dislike that term but
negligent senescence and perma-life are more
cumbersome- maybe methuselahs?) will undergo quite a
bit of fear, intolerance, and persecution by the
"normals" and the luddites. This means that some
"brave" cosmophillic (all-loving) immortalists might
achieve agelessness only to be killed by the peasants
with pitchforks. Whilst other risk-averse necrophobic
(death-fearing)immortalists may elect not to become
ageless at all for fear of reprisals from the
"normals" or in the case of the hypothetical medical
procedure discussed above, simple fear of premature
death.



The Avantguardian 
is 
Stuart LaForge
alt email: stuart"AT"ucla.edu

"The surest sign of intelligent life in the universe is that they haven't attempted to contact us." 
-Bill Watterson


		
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