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1-Page Summary of Immortality

Overview

Since our bodies are hard-wired to reject our mortality, we’ve created stories about immortality. We try to achieve it by creating things like religions and myths. However, more than likely, immortality is impossible so rather than fighting against death that’s inevitable, we should focus on enjoying the moment instead of wasting time trying to achieve something that will never happen.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live forever? Or if there is life after death? If so, you aren’t the only one. Since we became aware of our own mortality, people have struggled with the idea of not existing anymore and wonder what will happen when they die.

The desire to live forever is a fundamental part of being human. It has shaped our civilization and it continues to do so.

In these key points, you will learn about the ways people cope with their death and how those coping mechanisms are related to all forms of culture. In addition, you’ll read about why each one is unable to actually grant immortality. Finally, this passage will show what heroes have in common, how resurrection relates to cannibalism and why even if we had immortality it would only last around 5,775 years.

Big Idea #1: Humans are the only species that know they will eventually die.

Do you ever lie in bed thinking about your own death? We all know that we’re going to die someday, but most of us hope it won’t be for a long time. Why do we think about our deaths so much? For one thing, humans are “survival machines”; like all other living things, we want to stay alive as long as possible. This is why there’s an evolutionary process called adaptation and reproduction; the individuals with the strongest genes are more likely to reproduce and pass on their traits into the next generation.

Humans are different from other animals because we know that we will die. We want to live, but our mortality is the cause of a paradox in which we don’t want to die but can’t imagine not existing.

Try imagining your own death. What do you see? A tombstone or a funeral? You might think that you’re imagining it, but in reality there’s nothing to imagine because when you die there will be no one left to imagine anything.

So, we have a paradox: We know that death is inevitable but also impossible to imagine. So what do we do? Since we want to live and are unable to comprehend death, we try and find ways around it.

Big Idea #2: Humans cope with death by telling stories about immortality.

It’s hard to imagine what life would be like if we were constantly focused on our inevitable demise. How could we get anything done if we thought about death all the time? It would make life seem meaningless, and it would paralyze us.

People cannot live in a constant state of tension. Therefore, they create stories to distract them from their death and the death of their community.

Narratives help us deal with the fear of death. They give us a sense that we will continue to exist after death, and they can provide comfort in times of panic or chaos.

In addition, immortality narratives are at the heart of humanity’s greatest achievements. They’re in our religions, philosophies and sciences, as well as our arts and architecture.

Religious artifacts have been around for thousands of years. They’re designed to inspire us and remind us that we’ll live on forever.

Even in today’s world, we still try to keep people alive. For example, modern laws are based on ancient religious texts that dictate how humans should behave and interact with each other. If it weren’t for these laws, which were written thousands of years ago, we wouldn’t have the legal system we have today.