This book is dense and complex, but it kicks off a debate of massive importance
Who wants to live forever?" asked Freddie Mercury in 1986. Well, as it turns out, most of us don't. Ever since the dawn of humankind, death has been accepted as the only inexorable fact of existence, a final act which gives our life meaning.
Neuroscientist Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, a research fellow at Melbourne's Monash University, does not agree. Death is not inevitable and it should be resisted, he argues.
Instead, life should be prolonged for as long as possible, and technology will eventually enable us to live for centuries.
A quick disclaimer: this is an incredibly challenging book. It is not something you can bring on holiday or read half-heartedly on a train. Those who do persist will find a book that changes their entire idea of mortality and what science is capable of- even though I found myself disagreeing with much of its fundamental argument.
Zeleznikow-Johnston begins by attacking the idea that death is inevitable. People should "have the power to make decisions about life on their own terms", he writes, accusing philosophers of "palliative philosophy" by normalising the acceptance of death. In the past, philosophy provided "comfort when there was no cure that could be offered".
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Who is to blame for the lack of elite English managers?
Replacing Tuchel with a homegrown candidate will be no easy task
Who your club will sign and sell in the January market
Kolo Muani has more than one interested club in London, while there are big names unsettled and looking to move
The debt disaster threatening to leave Londoners without a drop to drink
Crisis-hit Thames Water could go under in days
Is 2025 the year of the first-time buyer?
This could be your best chance to buy a home in more than a decade here's where to look
Kick back in the Caribbean BodyHoliday, Saint Lucia
Green juices, beach workouts and supercharged facials: more and more of us are swapping piña coladas and indulgent food for a healthier, but no less glamorous, holiday.
Dishoom's Kavi Thakraron why Mumbai is his inspiration
The best street food, fantastic markets and bars where the hours just disappear...the restaurateur shares his guide
On the sauce - Adiamondis forever, after all
Double Diamond was supposedly Prince Philip’s favourite beer. He’s said to have enjoyed a bottle, nightly.
At the table - Queen of W1 expands empire with chic Italian
I understand it's not the done thing to compare restaurateurs to murderous mob bosses, given it's rude and, well, they're notoriously litigious. But when I think of Samyukta Nair, sometimes I hear Jack Nicholson's mutterings in The Departed, Martin Scorsese's Boston gangster flick. \"I don't want to be a product of my environment,\" Nichol- son says. \"I want my environment to be a product of me.\"
The Royal Academy's masterful show and mind-expanding surrealist paintings
Known for his intricate and stunning handmade tapestries, Siributr creates these vast hangings to explore his native Thailand past and present.
Review - Adrien Brody's power and depth shine in this colossal epic
The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet’s third feature, is a movie of such colossal size and scope it may well have been carved from marble; an epic paean to the immigrant experience in America in the wake of the Second World War.
