Abstract
This chapter is concerned with cryonics and suspended animation. Like the previous chapter, it contributes substantially to the philosophical debate on where the line between life and death should be drawn. The ultimate aim of cryonics is to achieve nondestructive freezing (cryopreservation) of advanced organisms like humans so that they can be safely thawed in the future, usually with a view to obtaining advanced medical treatment not currently available. In this chapter number of scientific and philosophical questions presented by cryonics are discussed, such as whether cryonics is real science or simply a waste of money, the legal and moral status of cryonically suspended individuals, and how to deal with the possibility that the thawed individual might end up with some organs working but with severe neurological impairment.
I’ve long thought it a pity that non-transhumanists equate trying to conquer death with a childish fear of death and a lack of wisdom. This is like saying Sir Edmund Hillary had a childish fear of mountains.
Philip Goetz.
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Notes
- 1.
I am indebted to High Hixon, an Alcor Research Fellow, for identifying this intriguing possibility via private correspondence. Mind uploading (whole brain emulation) is the hypothetical process of transferring a conscious mind from a biological brain to a non-biological substrate (e.g., silicon computer) via as yet uninvented technical innovations (scanning, mapping, simulation). The new substrate would run a simulation so faithful to the original that it would behave indistinguishably from the native brain. For additional discussion on this fascinating issue the interested reader is invited to read an intriguing paper from Bostrom ’s Future of Humanity Institute: http://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk/Reports/2008-3.pdf. One interesting issue is whether or not the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in physics—which precludes one from simultaneously knowing the exact position and velocity of any particle (such as an atom)—makes this possibility impossible in principle. This issue arises because, accepting physicalism for discussion purposes, the mind is not just a set of particles with positions w, x, y, and z, but a set of particles with both position and velocity.
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For vitrification on the human -scale, thermal mass and heat conduction properties conspire to limit the rate of cooling, with the consequence that novel approaches to vitrification must be sought. Recognizing that there is non-covalent competitive binding of water molecules between the biomolecules (which incorporate water as an integral component of their structure), the various components of the cryoprotectant, and crystalline ice, may be the basis for future developments. Note that the goal of cryoprotection is to avoid irreversible alteration of biomolecular structures, which ice does by competitive dehydration; the affinity of the water molecules for the ice is greater than for the biomolecules. (I am indebted to High Hixon, an Alcor Research Fellow, for making this point during our private correspondence.)
- 3.
Information about the journal is available at http://learnmem.cshlp.org.
- 4.
Information about the journal is available at http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-HIPO.html.
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A listing of various services is available at http://www.benbest.com/cryonics/CryoFAQ.html#_VII__.
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Although this last possibility—that of a conscious human existence somewhat like the “brain in a vat” scenario so often discussed in introductory philosophy courses - seems to be almost ludicrous, the situation may be technically possible, at least for moderate periods of time. Regardless, it should be emphasized that the usual “brain in a vat” scenario is a philosophical thought experiment often employed as an argument for philosophical skepticism and solipsism , and has nothing to do with cryonics.
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In cryonics circles this is known as the “strawberry man” argument. Needless to say, this is NOT what happens with successful cryonic vitrification . Shermer’s failure to mention vitrification in his article, despite it being the center-piece of cryonics, and the refusal of the editor of Scientific American to publish a letter to this effect, is an example of publication bias in science. For additional commentary on this and related issues, the interested reader is directed to http://www.alcor.org/press2001SciAm.html and http://www.icsu.org/publications/cfrs-statements/bias-in-science-publishing.
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Arguably, though, before thawing is attempted, the brain should be repairable to the extent that basic functioning would likely be fully restored, even if pre-preservation memories are not. And such memories in turn might be reconstructed to an extant from records, especially if the patient made a special effort to record past experiences, etc. (I am indebted to Mike Perry, Ph.D., an Alcor employee, for making this observation to me in private correspondence.)
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I should point out that many in the cryonics community don’t think these are “likely outcomes.” They argue that should cryonic resuscitation become possible, contemporaneous technological developments will also make it possible that an individual will awaken without neurological deficits.
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Quoted at http://www.alcor.org/notablequotes.html.
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Quoted at http://www.alcor.org/notablequotes.html.
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http://people.ucalgary.ca/~kmuldrew/cryo_course/cryo_chap15_1.html#02. Note also that many have said the same for donating to religious institutions.
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That being said, cryonicists’ expectations fall within the realm of physical law, while most religions place faith in the supernatural.
- 15.
Highly readable popular accounts are available at https://www.popsci.com/article/science/neuroscientist-who-wants-upload-humanity-computer as well as in book form: Keith Wiley, Taxonomy and Metaphysics of Mind Uploading, Alautun Press, 2014, available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NJZHGM8.
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Doyle, D.J. (2018). Cryonic Life Extension: Scientific Possibility or Stupid Pipe Dream?. In: What Does it Mean to be Human? Life, Death, Personhood and the Transhumanist Movement. Anticipation Science, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94950-5_6
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