The inexorability of immortality: no need for God?
Abstract In this paper, I aim to show that a certain form of immortality, without the need for any intervention from a supernatural being, is almost inevitable for human beings. I take a physicalist starting point: I am a certain configuration of physical particles. Thus, if these partic...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Norwegian Bokmål |
| Published: |
Scandinavian University Press
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Norsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.idunn.no/nft/2021/01/the_inexorability_of_immortality_noneedforgod |
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| Summary: | Abstract
In this paper, I aim to show that a certain form of immortality,
without the need for any intervention from a supernatural being,
is almost inevitable for human beings. I take a physicalist starting
point: I am a certain configuration of physical particles. Thus,
if these particles were reassembled in the same configuration, I
would necessarily come back into existence. I address a number of
objections raised against this prospect by Eric T. Olson, who argues
that the reassembly of such particles following their dispersal
after death would be simply impossible, and that if it did occur,
it would necessarily be a mere replica rather than the real ‘me’.
I suggest that the random redistribution of particles can be thought
of as the throw of cosmic ‘dice’. With any specific throw, the likelihood
that it yields the particular configuration that constitutes ‘me’
is vanishingly small. But over infinite spans of time, this likelihood
increases until it becomes a near certainty. I show that even if
this reconfiguration lacks the same causal features as those that gave
rise to the original me, this cannot imply that the reassembled
me is a mere replica. I acknowledge that my conjectured form of
immortality may be unappealing to theists and non-theists alike.
I also note that it rests on a linear conception of time, which
may not harmonise with current thinking in physics. However, these
issues notwithstanding, my conjectured version of immortality is
at least as inexorable as many other things we take for granted,
which also rest on potentially flawed beliefs about the nature of
time and space. |
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| ISSN: | 0029-1943 1504-2901 |