Immortality

Juan Ponce de Leon supposedly discovered Florida while searching for the Fountain of Youth. That's just a popular legend, but many other explorers spent their lives in the pursuit of the legend, but why did they do that? Why would they use up all their time on this earth searching for a means to extend that very time? That's a question that answers itself. The Fountain of Youth isn't the only legend that promised immortality, the concept was a large aspect of Alchemy as well, and many cultures have had their take on it a means of achieving eternal life. Immortality has fascinated man kind since we first encountered death. In my last entry I stated that man kind has always sought to stave off death, but there have also been many who wanted to defeat it all together. Personally, I don't think it's possible, and I also don't even think it's something worth pursuing. I think that finding ways to make the most out of the time that we do have on this earth is definitely worthwhile, but I feel that seeking to live forever isn't. Why would I say that? For a number of reasons, but chiefly because I think that immortality would cheapen life. I feel that the knowledge that our time has a cap is largely the reason we take part in as much as we do in this life. If I knew I had all the time in the world, I honestly don't think I would be as productive as I am. Not to mention the fact that I would say immortality, and even the pursuit of it, is selfish by nature. As has been pointed out numerous times, this world can only hold so many people. We aren't designed to stick around forever because there comes a time when space needs to be made for new individuals, that's something I firmly believe. As tragic as death can be, I believe that it's a necessary component of life. The achievement of a means of immortality would fundamentally break the balance of life and death, not to mention the fact that I would imagine that means to be highly controversial. Many people have said that certain scientific achievements are "playing God" and this is a tricky concept. The assertion is that we're meddling with things that we shouldn't be but who is really to say where that line is? Who is to say what is and isn't natural? Who is to say what is and isn't moral? Who is to say what God even is or what role the abstract concept plays in the greater scheme of existence and whether or not we are intruding into the territory of "playing God". I don't have the answers to these questions, but I would say that the pursuit of immortality could definitely be considered venturing into the realms of the "unnatural". I say that because what I define as unnatural is something that goes against the fundamentals of existence. One of those fundamentals is the balance between life and death, of which immortality would change. Still, I don't like the phrase "playing God" because I feel that it's often applied to subjects that I don't see as applicable. Some might say that as medicine keeps advancing, immortality may fall within our reach, and if and when that time comes, the question of it's morality will undoubtedly surface. It wouldn't be an illogical assumption to say that any means of immortality would come from the realms of medicine, so with that it would also be safe to assume that it would be expensive. This means that only the well off would likely be able to afford it, and with that comes the question of who would really deserve it. There have been many significant figures throughout history and many that are still alive today that plenty of people would say are deserving of immortality, and many of those people aren't wealthy, so there's some conflict there. There could also be some price that comes with eternal life, since we don't know what kind of side effects such a thing might bring with it, physical, psychological, emotional, or otherwise. In some stories I've read, there were immortal figures that actually chose to die because they simply tired of the world after spending so much time on it, and to tell the truth, I understand that. Death is often described as the final rest, and it's not hard to understand why. While some may consider the human lifespan to be short, those that have experienced longer lives have often described their final years as tiresome. As their bodies and minds began to deteriorate, death began to seem like less of a tragedy, and more of a relief. If one were to become immortal, I'm not so sure if they would be so happy about it after a certain amount of time. In my mind, death isn't just the end of life, it's the fuel of it. Again, the fact that we don't have forever is what pushes us to make the most out of the time that we do have, and if that limit were to be removed, the significance of life would be greatly diminished. You may disagree, but that's just my own personal opinion on the matter. Coming back to Ponce de Leon and other explorers like him that were drawn to the siren song of eternal youth, I'd like to think that more often than not they ended up regretting their pursuits after all was said and done. As far as I know, the Fountain of youth was never found, and perhaps that's for the best.