Deck 19: Taking Stock of the Risks of Life Without Death

Question 1

Anti-Curmudgeons believe that

A) Our own mortality is a good thing
B) Having interesting pursuits is more important than pleasures in immortal life
C) Since boredom is no big problem is mortal lives, it's no big problem in immortal ones
D) If you forget what you did in the past, you're not yourself anymore

Answer 1

Since boredom is no big problem is mortal lives, it's no big problem in immortal ones

Question 2

Which of the following is not a potential disanalogy that Gorman brings up between immortal lives and the library metaphor? Unlike the imagined library...

A) some books might be infinitely long
B) there might be an infinite number of books in the library
C) most of the books might be missing introductions
D) you might forget that you've read some of the books

Answer 2

most of the books might be missing introductions

Question 3

How is the special form of immortal boredom that Gorman worries we might experience different from ordinary boredom?

A) It would merely be a perception, but not accurate
B) It would be about just one specific thing, rather than life itself
C) It would be an accurate perception, instead of being caused by tunnel-vision
D) It would be happen all at once instead of slowly over time

Answer 3

It would be an accurate perception, instead of being caused by tunnel-vision

Question 4

Which of the following is not a reason Gorman is worried about re-doing our pursuits after we've forgotten them?

A) We would do the same thing twice, and repetition of activities leads to boredom
B) Our memories might not erase the right things
C) If we tried to take a pill to forget that we forgot, we might sever our identities
D) You might be the kind of person who would see this as futile

Question 5

Which of the following does Gorman think might be the right kind of pursuit to stave off insurmountable boredom about life itself?

A) Eating freshly baked cookies
B) Painting the best painting you've ever painted
C) Mastering every instrument ever
D) None of the above

Question 6

Which of the following is not a reason Gorman offers for why the choice to take an elixir of immortality is a particularly tricky one?

A) It's hard to subjectively project yourself into the future
B) Decision theory has trouble with infinite values
C) Your choice might affect other people
D) It's hard to know if you're the kind of person who will find it futile to do things you're only interested in because you forgot them

Question 7

What is Gorman's account of why we get bored in ordinary life, and how do they think boredom in immortal life might differ? How does this relate to why projects might be more important than pleasures in order to live a good immortal life? Do you agree that a person needs to have projects/pursuits rather than merely pleasures in order to have a good immortal life? Why or why not?

Question 8

Explain one of Gorman's arguments that it is theoretically possible to live an immortal life without becoming insurmountably bored? What is the strongest counterargument you can come up with against it? Explain one of Gorman's arguments that for many people an immortal life without insurmountable boredom is not possible? What is the strongest counterargument you can come up with against it?