From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Thu Feb 06 2003 - 21:26:18 MST
I was referred to as saying
> > On this basis, I strongly disagree with Lee's assertion that the life of an
> > 85-year old is less valuable than that of a 15-year old. In extropic terms,
> > I think carrying on the 85 year-old knowledge base (given the means to do
> > that) is much more valuable. In evolutionary-based terms, of course, it
> > feels right to value the 15-year old who can better carry on the genetic
> > legacy.
Firstly, I think that practically everyone on this list agrees
that it's inappropriate to speak of "valuing" others in any
objective or societal sense. A huge and mostly wasted discussion
revolved last summer about the "lifeboat question", namely,
whether women or men are the more valuable to save. Some argued
that men were "more valuable", but I attempted a partial retort
that the ancient Romans might actually consider women to be "more
valuable", partly because I knew that this would appeal to the
particular person making the claim.
In conclusion, no one here is talking of "valuing" people
at the present time. Finis. I hope. And the accusation
that I ever made such an assertion, above, is totally false.
What we can all agree on (probably) is that the memories and
experiences of the 85 year old are much greater and deeper
than those of the 15 year old, and that if one could have a
book that transcribed the experiences and memories of each,
one would have a huge multi-volume tome on the one hand in
comparison to a slender lightweight novel on the other.
My point was, of course, that any of us unfortunate enough
to ever have to triage, i.e. to choose, might very well---
given that no other information was available---prefer to
triage in favor of those who had the greater life expectancy.
But again (hoping that the paragraph just written is not taken
out of context), we must NEVER lose sight for a moment of the
eventual goal of saving EVERYONE'S life. We must attain the
very highest moral position in all this, which is to understand
and accept N.F. Fyodorov's Common Task, that is, if scientifically
possible, the resurrection of every person who has ever lived.
I fervently pray that Tipler's hypotheses turn out to be correct,
that information is never in fact lost, and that through an
eventual Omega Point everyone lives forever. About Fyodorov:
http://www.venturist.org/fyodorov1.htm
The best source material for those unacquainted with immortalism,
Fyodorov, cryonics, or Tipler are Mike Perry's "Forever For All",
and Frank Tipler's "The Physics of Immortality".
Lee Corbin
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