Synopsis
The Prospect of Immortality - Fifty Years Later is "the definitive anthology in cryonics, full stop." (Dr. Steve Fuller, Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick, UK). "Cryonics is an experiment. So far the control group isn't doing very well." (Dr. Ralph Merkle, inventor of public key cryptography). The Prospect of Immortality - Fifty Years Later is edited by Charles Tandy, Ph.D. (ISBN 978-1-934297-21-6 is the Hardback edition and ISBN 978-1-934297-22-3 is the Paperback edition.) ................... This 534-paged anthology is a fifty year celebration and update of Robert Ettinger's 1964 cryonics classic, The Prospect of Immortality. The Prospect of Immortality was published by Doubleday in 1964 after being vetted as scientifically plausible by none other than the famous pseudoscience debunker, Isaac Asimov. Its author, Robert Ettinger, became known rather quickly as the father of cryonics. Ettinger himself has now been in cryonic hibernation since 2011. The first cryonaut, James Bedford, has been in cryonic hibernation since 1967. Hopefully at some point in time, it will become feasible to place (future) cryonauts in (perfected long-term) suspended animation instead of in cryonic hibernation. ................... Healthspan extension and enhancement (immortality as prolongevity) is the goal of cryonics. Cryonics is a biomedical experiment in long-term suspended animation or practical time travel. It is based on our present state of knowledge of existing technology and on our present state of knowledge of future technology. Accordingly, "unbelievable" (i.e., amazing) experimental results (prolongevity) should not prove surprising. Biomedically, this is a case where the experimental group has much to recommend it over the control (burial/cremation) group. ................... The present update, after fifty years, includes seven parts (topics) totalling 18 chapters: ..... (Part One: Cryonics And Death) ..... 1. Redefining Death Amid Biomedical Advance (by Charles Tandy) ..... (Part Two: Cryonics And Science) ..... 2. Scientific Justification Of Cryonics Practice (by Benjamin P. Best) ..... 3. Temperature Effects On Medical Nanorobots (by Robert A. Freitas Jr.) ..... 4. The Technology Of Revival, Repair, And Rejuvenation (by York W. Porter) ..... (Part Three: Cryonics And Religion) ..... 5. Buddhism And Cryonics (by D. J. MacLennan) ..... 6. Christianity And Cryonics (by John Warwick Montgomery) ..... (Part Four: Cryonics And The Law) ..... 7. Cryonics Law In The Service Of Cryonics Care: The Swiss Option (by F. A. B. Cortese) ..... 8. How To Protect Your Cryonics Arrangements From Interference By Third Parties (by Rebecca Lively) ..... 9. Legal Issues With Cryonic Suspension (by John Warwick Montgomery) ..... (Part Five: Cryonics And Economics) ..... 10. How Has The Cryonics Institute Weathered The Economic Ups And Downs Since Its Inception? (by Patrick A. Heller) ..... 11. The Economics Of Immortality Revisited (by Rudi Hoffman) ..... 12. Long-Term Survival Of The Alcor Life Extension Foundation (by Max More) ..... 13. Ettinger's Void (by David Pascal) ..... 14. How Has The American Cryonics Society Weathered The Economic Ups And Downs Since Its Inception? (by James R. Yount) ..... (Part Six: Cryonics And Personal Identity) ..... 15. The Wonder Of Indeterminacy (by D. J. MacLennan) ..... 16. The Self Persistent: Rethinking Ettinger's Position On The Problem Of Identity (by R. Michael Perry) ..... 17. Non-Cruciality Of Personal Identity: Immortality As Possibility (by Melanie Swan) ..... (Part Seven: Cryonics And Future Society) ..... 18. There's No Place Like "Fhome" - A Personal View Of Our Future-Home: The Pilgrim's Progress (by Charles Tandy) ................... The editor's postscript, entitled How Presentday Ethics And Laws May Be Used To Support Your Right To Cryonic Hibernation, begins on page 491. The INDEX begins on page 507. On page 519, there begins an Addendum: Scientists' Open Letter On Cryonics
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