Immortality

For other uses, see Immortal (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Immorality.

The Fountain of Eternal Life in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, is described as symbolizing "Man rising above death, reaching upward to God and toward Peace."[1]

Immortality is the concept of eternal life.[2] Some species possess 'biological immortality' due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit.[3][4]

Some scientists, futurists and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immortality may be achievable in the first few decades of the 21st century with the help of certain technologies such as mind uploading (digital immortality).[5] Other advocates believe that life extension is a more achievable goal in the short term, with immortality awaiting further research breakthroughs. The absence of aging would provide humans with biological immortality, but not invulnerability to death by disease or injury. Whether the process of internal immortality is delivered within the upcoming years depends chiefly on research (and in neuron research in the case of internal immortality through an immortalized cell line) in the former view and perhaps is an awaited goal in the latter case.[6]

From at least the time of the ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a conviction that gods may be physically immortal, and that this is also a state that the gods at times offer humans. In Christianity, the conviction that God may offer physical immortality with the resurrection of the flesh at the end of time has traditionally been at the center of its beliefs.[7][8][9] What form an unending human life would take, or whether an immaterial soul exists and possesses immortality, has been a major point of focus of religion,[10] as well as the subject of speculation and debate. In religious contexts, immortality is often stated to be one of the promises of divinities to human beings who perform virtue or follow divine law.[11]

  1. ^ Marshall Fredericks (2003). "GCVM History and Mission". Greater Cleveland Veteran’s Memorial, Inc. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  2. ^ "immortality". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/6198259326. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. ^ Berthold, Emma (10 September 2018). "The animals that can live forever". Curious. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  4. ^ "7 Immortal Animals That Can Basically Live Forever". Reader's Digest. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  5. ^ "We'll be uploading our entire minds to computers by 2045 and our bodies will be replaced by machines within 90 years, Google expert claims "Kurzweil"". Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  6. ^ Hentrich, Michael (September 2015). "Artificial Neural Command Theory (American English) (US)". Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  7. ^ Perkins 1984, pp. 17–18.
  8. ^ af Hällström 1988, pp. 9–10.
  9. ^ Endsjø 2023, pp. 2–5, 28–30, 110–12.
  10. ^ Cullmann 1955.
  11. ^ "Religion and Spirituality: On the Immortality of the Soul | Foundations". foundations.vision.org. Retrieved 25 October 2024.