Life Extension
Life extension on this site is the ethical aspiration to overcome aging and death during embodied life, distinct from technological resurrection of those already dead. Lincoln's articles respond to immortality skeptics, engage Catholic and Mormon perspectives on longevity, and compare mere survival with thriving embodied immortality. He examines life extension therapy, Bryan Johnson's "Don't Die" movement, and Christian duty to overcome aging and death. The topic lists articles relevant to active hope for longer and better life through practical work within religious Transhumanist frameworks.
This is a list of articles that Lincoln Cannon has written about life extension and immortality. A full archive of all articles that Lincoln has published since 2005 is also available. You may also search for articles and other content that's available on any of Lincoln's websites.
-
Don't Die Can Be Good But Thriving Is Always Better
Celebrity biohacker Bryan Johnson recently sent a provocative email to his followers. “I am the healthiest person on the planet,” he claims. True or not, he probably has your attention. I don’t have concerns with the sensationalism, at least not in itself. Hopefully Bryan is every bit as healthy as ... -
Aspire to Embodied Immortality
This Easter morning, while thinking about the hope of resurrection, a friend reached out to me with questions about Bible descriptions of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He had asserted to some Christians that “Jesus was resurrected with his own flesh and bones.” The Christians disagreed, observing “the Bible says, ... -
Mormon on "Don't Die, by Zero" AKA Bryan Johnson
I just finished and enjoyed reading Don’t Die, by Zero, a novel by Bryan Johnson. Currently, Bryan is probably the most (in)famous biohacker in the world. He’s a tech entrepreneur, and the founder of Braintree Financial and Kernel. And I have the good fortune to count him among old friends, ... -
Responding to the Immortality Machine
In January 2018, Plough published an article by Michael Plato, “The Immortality Machine,” criticizing Transhumanism and its relationship with theosis. I responded to that criticism in a letter to the editor, which Plough published in February 2018, along with some disappointing additional thoughts from Michael. Below is a record of ... -
Love Is the Duty of Life
Like Christianity generally, Mormonism stresses that our duty is love, particularly because love enables joy. Echoing the central themes of The New Testament, we read in the Book of Mormon: “… wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And ... -
Mormon Life Extension, Desecration or Glorification?
Pew Research recently published some brief summaries of religious leaders’ views on radical life extension, in conjunction with the results of a study on Americans’ views on radical life extension. The summaries included one positioned to represent Mormonism (and particularly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is ... -
Pope Benedict and Immortalists
In Pope Benedict’s Holy Saturday address on 3 April of this year, he presented perspective on immortalism. He suggested that radical extension of life as we currently know it is not a cure for death. But rather a cure for death must “transform our lives from within” and “create a ... -
Christian Duty Includes Overcoming Aging and Death
Mormons almost universally acknowledge that we have a moral obligation and capacity to participate in the work of God, to bring about the immortality and eternal life of humanity. This acknowledgement focuses primarily on the advance of spiritual salvation, particularly through missionary and temple work. Such a focus is important, ... -
Transhumanists Can Love Life and Acknowledge Problems
The Mormon Transhumanist Association received the following email from a site visitor today: “Life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced.” (Soren Aabye Kierkegaard) The return address on the email did not work. So I’ll respond here. While I agree heartily that life overall ... -
Responding to Immortality Skeptics
I regularly read the blog of Wesley Smith, an intelligent and good-natured antagonist of Transhumanism. Today he wrote about the “futility of the immortality movement.” Below are my thoughts in response. That which is analogous to death will always be part of existence. With that I agree. However, skeptics really ... -
Death Is Neither Inevitable Nor Good
In discussions with friends recently, the subject of death came up and comments were made about it being inevitable and that we should accept that inevitability as something good. I responded that, depending on your definition of “death,” trends suggest that it is not inevitable for some of us. Death ... -
The Work of Immortality is Not Complete
Bill Muehlenberg, in his Culture Watch blog, recently wrote about “The First Church of Transhumanism.” After providing a summary of his perspective on Transhumanism, he writes the following: “The truth is, life extension is already a current reality. Indeed, we will all live forever. But there are just two destinies ...