Immortality is one of the major topics that accompanies the question: What is the meaning of life? When discussing immortality, it seems as though there are as many views on this as there is on other large topics like politics and other social issues. Our group has decided to take advantage of this and has looked at different sources and opinions in order to gain a more in depth knowledge of who believes what in certain circumstances. We have used people of different religions, different ages, and even a few movies to see the differences in thoughts. To determine who picked what topics, we each chose what interested us each the most and who had easy access to different sources of information. The following part of this website that discusses religious views on immortality was conducted by a student with friends of different religions and the section of age groups was conducted by a student that interviewed many different people to see if their views change with age.

In lecture, we spent about two weeks discussing various philosophers and their thoughts and opinions on what immortality would do to humans and if they would be changed if they knew that their lives would never end. To avoid the monotonous ‘reading an essay’ feel, here are the basic views of a couple of the more influential ones, followed by fun graphics:

Schoeffler: assumptions and thoughts on what a “doomsday” scenario would do to the human race.

• Almost all activities would have no importance
  • Music
  • Art
  • Philosophy
  • Every-day tasks
• People would care for each other more
  • Taking care of other people would be more important than ourselves
• Nothing would be enjoyable
  • Even the REALLY AWESOME stuff
    • Fine cuisine
    • Adrenaline-inducing activities
      • Roller coasters
      • Sky diving
      • Bungee jumping
      • Scuba diving
    • Even sex!

Susan Wolf:  It might be all gloom-and-doom for a while, but soon we would realize that maybe it’s not so bad. She had SOME of the same views as Schoeffler, but not as terrible.

• We would inititally freak out! (as would be expected in this situation)
• But then it’d be ok!
  • It would free up time to do whatever makes us happy
    • Art
    • Science
    • Performing
    • Gardening
    • Reading
    • Video Games
    • Other hobbies
  • We could be VERY wasteful with:
    • Time
    • Money
    • Resources
      • Because it WOULDN’T MATTER!
    • In a direct quote:
      • “the sorts of activities least likely to be affected by the doomsday scenario are those that are explicitly focused on the care and comfort of others.”
        • Helping others be as comfortable in their final bit of time
        • Everybody else is in the same situation, so why fight?

In light of the recent political tensions and presidential candidates, I thought it’d be fun to make bumper stickers for these two, as if they were running for office:

In order to get some of my own feedback, rather than simply depending on the writers’ whose information is included later on, I conducted a survey of my floor of my building on campus to see what people thought about living forever. I simply made a post on my floor’s “GroupMe” page that there was a survey near the elevator that I’d appreciate their participation on. I purposely didn’t disclose any other information because I wanted to see what people thought of the idea of immortality without the influence of my thoughts. From the results, while disappointingly lacking, it seems that people don’t like the idea of living forever (or at least the small sample size that I used). I think this might because there are too many open ended questions that need to be answered. Some of these that come to mind for me personally are:

• Will I retain my mental capabilities?
• Will I remain physically capable?
• To what point will I progress? (mentally and physically)
• Can other people I care about live forever with me?
• Can I choose those people?
• And SOOOO many more with time to think and contemplate the decision.

In the remainder of this blog, please keep an open mind and think about what your answer would be if someone were to ask YOU if you’d like to live forever.

“Do you want to live forever?” “Do you believe in Heaven?” These are heavy questions that require a lot of thought, honesty and reflection. For example, while it is unclear what happens to us when we die, if you do not have faith and believe in Heaven, you could fear missing out on it if it does exist. If you do believe in Heaven and it does not exist, you could be wasting the life you do have waiting for something that will never come. If you do not want to live forever, you might reflect on your live and realize there is something missing and that is why you do not want to be on this planet forever. If you do want to live forever, you have to consider the circumstances and how the other people in the world affect your life and decision.

Credit: Buzzfeed

Answers to questions like these could also be affected by a lot of individual characteristics. Things like religion and gender could have an impact on your response, but I choose to explore age. It makes sense that someone 10-years-old has not put a lot of thought into the afterlife, while someone who is approaching 70 can have a well-crafted, thought out answer to questions about immortality and death.

I interviewed different people from ages 10 to 65 about what happens after we die, the possibility of Heaven and if they would want to live forever. Overall, the younger people that I interviewed were interested in the possibility of living forever and less concerned with Heaven or anything equivalent to it.

“I don’t think anything happens after we die, we’re dead,” Laura Cardi, 14, said. “It’s sad, but I just don’t think Heaven exists.”

While Cardi does not believe there is anything after this life, she would consider sticking around forever under a few conditions. “I would definitely live forever if I didn’t age and no one around me aged. I don’t think everyone should be immortal, but if I don’t get a disease or hit by a car, I shouldn’t die from old age or just because it’s ‘time.’”

Cardi’s view on life is unique. She’s so content with the life she’s living that she would live it forever if the world let her. Even younger than Cardi, 10-year-old Faith Heffron would also live forever.

“I don’t know… I guess. Yeah, why not?” Heffron, who was giggling and thought talking about death seemed awkward, said about whether or not she would want to live forever. “I believe in Heaven because my parents do, but if I got to live forever, I could go everywhere and do everything that I want to.”

Credit: Behance.net

Heffron presents a good point. If you are alive forever, then you do not have to worry about running out of time. However, as 18-year-old MaryKate Boylan pointed out, if you know you’re going to live forever, the risk, and therefore the excitement, of life is gone.

“I feel like if I knew I was going to live forever I wouldn’t take any risks or live on the edge because I would have the weight of knowing I’ll have to live with it forever,” she said. “At least we know now we can be risky and rebellious because everyone is going to be gone at some point, so why not live to the fullest in this moment.”

Something that Boylan and 22-year-old Claire Hale, who initially thought living forever would be great because she has a lot of different career aspirations, can agree on is the idea of Heaven is a place “with no fear and no evil.”

“I think it would be so cool to live forever like the Cullens in Twilight,” Hale said with a smile. “It sounds silly, but thinking about traveling to different places, getting different educations and starting different careers would be great. I’m indecisive, so knowing I could be a doctor for 50 years, then a horseback rider for another 50, and then traveling the world for another 50 would give me comfort.”

Credit: Tumblr

After bringing up the idea of Heaven, Hale’s face dropped. “I just realized if I live forever, then I never get to go to Heaven. I believe that Heaven is a place without problems and drama. It’s just bliss, and you feel so loved by God and everyone who came before you. Now, I don’t want to live forever.”

Hale was the only person who changed her mind after our discussion. It’s possible that because Hale is at a transition in her life, preparing for graduation, applying to medical school and giving up on her dream of working with horses, she grasped onto the idea of being immortal and not having to make permanent decisions.

31-year-old Katie Esler had her own vision of Heaven, even though she does not believe it exists.

“When I think of ‘heaven’ I imagine a completely different world than we are in now, but with the ability to still watch over those that are still living in today’s world. It’s a nice thought, however, I do not think it exists,” she explained.

Esler continued to say she did not want to live forever because it takes away from the idea of accomplishing goals.

“I would not be motivated to do the things on my bucket list that I want to do at some point in my life,” she said. “If I think about living forever, its hard to picture completing certain milestones in life such as going to college, getting married, having kids, retiring, etc.”

Credit: WordPress

Similar to Boylan, 18, Esler, thinks living forever would affect how she lives her life and does not think there are circumstances that would make it possible or desirable.

On the other hand, 49-year-old Debbie Baunchalk who already accomplished everything on Esler’s list of basic life goals besides retirement, would live forever if her family got to stick around as well.

“I would want to live forever if I had my husband, my heath and my kids,” she said. “But because I know that is not the case, I take comfort in the fact that my soul goes onto Heaven and I can look over my family until they join me.”

65-year-old Robert Isabella agrees. “I would love to live forever but only if I was healthy and my family was with me with an unlimited supply of money. Living with a debilitating disease i.e. Cancer or Alzheimer’s, or being broke is not really living in my book,” he explained.

Isabella changed his tune a bit with the idea of Heaven. He would like to continue his life with his family and funds, but if there was less conflict (and annoyances like traffic) and more happiness (days off), he would like to “try it out.”

“If there definitely were a ‘Heaven’ type of place, I would like to try it out. After all it’s supposed to be the ultimate place to be so, why not? Especially if there is no work or traffic…” he said with a smirk.

Perhaps the most interesting discovery from these interviews, is the youngest, Heffron and Cardi, and the oldest, Baunchalk and Isabella, people I talked to would want to live forever.

Both Baunchalk and Isabella have children and a spouse, and made sure to mention them in almost every answer. I think the idea of living forever takes on a new meaning when you think about being around for your child’s entire existence, and having a partner to live forever with adds another layer.

Credit: Tumblr

On the other hand, Heffron and Cardi, would want to live forever for different reasons because they obviously do not have children or a spouse, at 10 and 14, respectively. Perhaps they want to live forever because they have not experienced great loss or suffering yet, or a less serious reason like it’s a cool idea and gives them a super power like they see on TV. The reasons could vary, but regardless, it appears that younger and older individuals consider living forever a good thing compared to middle aged people.

However, while the idea of immorality and Heaven seems to be affected by the idea of age and experience, it also appears to be too personal and individual to make hasty generalizations about.

Challenge Yourself: Consider your age, and what you think about living forever. Then consider how you think you felt or how you would feel at 10, 14, 18, 22, 31, 49 and 65.

Credit: Hollywoodassistants.tumblr.com Visit

The following video consists of various answers to five different questions about immortality.  The participants were given the questions to consider before being filmed and were then asked to answer them to the best of their ability using religion as their basis to draw answers from.  All five individuals are currently enrolled in college and are between 18 and 20 years of age.  The goal of this video is to illustrate the effect different religions (or lack thereof) have on opinions people hold about the topic of immortality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX0GxUxqtpw&feature=youtu.be

Below are just a few movie reviews regarding immortality taken from major movie productions. We can consider the unique set of circumstances, and challenges these different conceptions of immortality carry and the impact they would have on our own lives in regards to meaningfulness. As you watch these video clips and read the synopsis, ask yourself, “What kind of effect would this immortality have on my life.”

Groundhog Day (1993)

In the movie Groundhog Day, Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is a caustic weatherman sent to cover the Groundhog Day ceremony in Punxsutawney much to his own displeasure. After a terrible day, Phil goes to sleep and much to his surprise, wakes up on groundhogs day again. After spending some time trying to figure out just what is going on, Phil tries to end his life.

In this particular case of immortality, Phil is stuck reliving the same day over. Unlike some other concepts of immortality where the immortal lives on throughout time, Phil lives on in the same segment of time, over and over. While Phil does take some time to have fun and learn new skills, he ultimately ends up depressed and tries to kill himself. This illustrates a common idea that if we were immortal, life would become boring and dull; a life not worth living.  After attempting suicide over and over, Phil comes to the conclusion that he is a god. It is interesting to note in the video clip that this is not a happy concept in Phil’s head. Phil isn’t thrilled to believe he is a god because he has come to see the endless torment immortality would provide him with.

This existence for Phil seems to have little happiness overall, and no meaning. The only meaning in Phil’s life is to break the cycle, to end his immortality.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

In this clip, we see Indiana Jones come upon the ancient hiding place of the mythicized Holy Grail. Here he meets a knight who has been guarding the Grail for over 700 years. While this scene makes few explicit statements about what it is like to be immortal, we can infer a lot from the demeanor of the knight. The knight is tired, downtrodden, and very happy to see Indiana Jones. He is presumable tired from his seemingly eternal wait in solitude. It is interesting to note the role of solitude in all of these movies. That immortality would carry a certain amount of loneliness. The knight is seemingly elated to see Indiana Jones because if he can choose the correct grail, the knight’s watch can end and he can presumably die.

At the end of the clip the knight refers to the “cost of immortality;” another hint to the negative connotation. He does not refer to it as a gift or blessing, but rather a cost; suggesting that immortality takes more than it would give.

Immortality does not seem to provide the knight with a happy life by any means, but it may provide him with a meaningful one. His life has purpose. He is an eternal guard, and fulfilling that role seems to provide some sort of meaning.

Dracula Untold (2014)

In this retelling of the classic tale of Dracula, Vlad enters a cave seeking to unveil the dark mysteries held within in hopes to use these unknown forces to his advantage. Upon arrival he meets an ancient vampire. The vampire listens to Vlad’s predicament and offers him a solution. If he drinks the elder vampire’s blood, he will gain his powers, but also a thirst for human blood. If Vlad can resist drinking blood, he will return to normal after three days; enough time to conquer his enemies. If he cannot resist drinking blood, he will replace the senior vampire and become immortal.

This is another example of an immortal trying to give away his own immortality. The senior vampire hopes Vlad will not be able to hold out, and will give in to his thirst, freeing the senior vampire. This is another portrayal of immortality as a curse and not a gift. There would seem to be little fulfillment in the senior vampires life, and he warns Vlad that little happiness will come to him if he accepts this burden.

Tuck Everlasting

In the movie Tuck Everlasting, A young woman named Winnie meets and falls in love with a young looking boy named Jesse. As she grows to know Jesse and his whole family she learns that the family is a family of immortals. That her 17 year old boyfriend is actually much older. Long story short, Winnie must choose between drinking from the fountain of everlasting life or accepting her humanity. She wants to be with Jesse, but being immortal can raise a lot of questions. If the Tucks stay in one place to long, people will notice them not aging. Winnie is given the choice to drink from the spring of youth and join the Tucks, or stay behind as a mortal.

The Tucks try to make it clear to Winnie that immortality is not what you might expect it to be. That they themselves would like to give up their own immortality to die. That being immortal means having relationships, and watching them die, or never having relationships at all. The Tuck family is not without happiness, they tend to have a damper mood, but there seems to be some happiness in their lives. Some happiness, though, wouldn’t seem to be enough. There lacks meaning in their lives, and for that reason, they curse their immortality.

Review

In search of films about immortality, I tried to find films that would show immortality in both a positive and a negative light. Interestingly enough, it is difficult to find major picture films that portray immortality as a good thing. This speaks to a general consensus that an immortal life wouldn’t be better than a mortal one. Having life eternal seems to separate those who have it from the rest of the world. Unable to have meaningful relationships.  Life becomes a burden when there is no end in sight, no final goal to achieve, just an eternal, meaningless existence.