In this blog post, we will examine from a philosophical perspective how humans can reestablish the meaning and value of life in a world without death.
“Eternal life” has been a fundamental desire of humans since ancient times. Numerous religions consider immortality to be the highest religious value, and a simple internet search for the term “eternal life” will reveal countless writings by people seeking eternal life in relation to religion. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest epic poem in human history, depicts heroes who set out in search of eternal life, and most of the ancient myths of India are related to eternal life. In the past, the desire for eternal life was not readily apparent because people could not even achieve material satisfaction, but with the advent of material abundance in modern times, this idea has resurfaced. So, if everyone were to live forever, would humanity be happier? Before examining the relationship between eternal life and happiness, we must first define happiness. Happiness can be defined as a psychological state or rational state of mind in which one feels pleasure from the fulfillment of one’s desires and wishes, and feels no anxiety or fear, and has hope for the future.
When we look at eternal life from the perspective of the definition of happiness, fulfilled desires and wishes mean eternal life, and the removal of anxiety means the removal of anxiety about illness and death. Even if we exclude the countless valuable things that can be gained from eternal life, the mere fact that anxiety about illness and death will disappear completely eliminates one factor of unhappiness, which could lead to the happiness of all humanity.
However, if we think about it the other way around, the addition of the element of “eternal life” could also make humanity unhappy. In “Philosophizing with Kim Kwang-seok” (written by Kim Kwang-sik), there is a passage that says, “Heidegger says that when we realize the ‘true meaning of time,’ we can regain the true meaning of existence.” Here, the true meaning of time refers to the finiteness of life, or the finiteness of time. If you were to die in a month, would you spend your time searching for various stimulating things out of curiosity and engaging in meaningless chatter? Heidegger argues that if that were the case, you would live with all your heart even if you only had one day left to live.
It is true that existence has meaning because it has an end, and that we can live each day to the fullest because of that. However, is it necessary to live a meaningful life in order to be happy? The break time that comes after work and a period of rest that lasts for several years have similar meanings, but the feelings they bring are clearly different. The happiness we feel after working all week may be greater than the happiness we feel after resting all week. If we rest continuously, we may become bored and restless. However, we will not live forever without working, and we may not necessarily work in the same job for our entire lives. There are many things that humans can do and want to do, but because our lives are limited, we choose one or at most ten occupations to live our lives. If we could eliminate the current custom of having to enter society at the age of 20, we would be able to experience and learn many different fields, and we might even be happier than we are now, where our lifespan is fixed and the things we can do are predetermined. The current stereotypical pattern of getting a job, getting married, and raising children will not continue forever, and we will be able to freely design new life patterns that suit us. If we think about it this way, we can see that the current situation, where we cannot live forever, is more uniform and makes it easy to feel bored.
Let’s consider the development of the Internet and its impact to explain the relationship between eternal life and happiness. With the development of the Internet, humanity has come to live a life of unparalleled convenience. Unlike in the past, we can now communicate with people far away, and we can acquire knowledge without going through complicated processes. However, there are also numerous disadvantages, such as the spread of new types of crime through the Internet and illnesses caused by overdependence on the Internet. But does that mean that we are less happy now than we were in the past? With today’s technology, is it really happy to wait a week for a letter to be delivered when it takes less than a minute to send a text message? If the standard of happiness is satisfaction, as mentioned above, and if the act of sending a letter is not for the sake of “waiting” but for the sake of “communication,” then it can be said that we are happier now with the development of the Internet. Of course, there are still problems such as people becoming addicted to the internet and neglecting their real-life relationships, but if we establish values and lifestyles that are appropriate for a society with advanced internet technology, such as considering it polite not to look at your phone when meeting people, or using the internet only as a means of communication and meeting people frequently, we will be able to solve many problems and ultimately achieve a happy life. It can be speculated that human society, which will undergo rapid change after gaining eternal life, will follow a path similar to the process of social change brought about by the development of the Internet. Eternal life may eliminate anxiety related to illness and death, but it will also bring about many disadvantages. However, compared to a life with a finite lifespan, eternal life will objectively be happier. Of course, after gaining eternal life, there may be confusion and unhappiness until values and lifestyles are established, but we can be sure that humans with eternal life will choose different ways of living than before, and once everything stabilizes, they will live happier lives than before.
Humans probably did not expect eternal life from the beginning. In ancient times, when survival was not guaranteed, people probably hoped to live one day at a time, and when people starved to death because they could not eat well, they probably wished for material abundance. Now that material abundance is guaranteed, humans are striving for eternal life. However, if humans do achieve eternal life, will they live complacently without any expectations? Humans would surely create something else to strive for and work toward. This argument could be used to refute the idea that humans would be happy even if they achieved eternal life. As humans’ expectations increase, the happiness gained from achieving eternal life would be forgotten over time. However, can we say that we are unhappy in the present just because our expectations have increased? Higher expectations mean that we have something to strive for, which is more realistic than the idea that everyone will be uniformly happy after gaining eternal life. Of course, higher expectations can lead to unhappiness as we compare ourselves to others. However, eternal life is the same for everyone, so there is always the hope that we will eventually surpass others. Compared to living a finite life, living forever allows us to fulfill our expectations and develop new ones, and in the process, we can find meaning in life. It is not simply living forever that makes us happy, but the process of finding our own happiness.
Living forever has many advantages over having a finite lifespan. Basically, there is no anxiety about illness and death, the possibility of enjoying happiness forever increases, and one can actively seek one’s own happiness. In the process, one may feel confused due to not being able to establish values and a lifestyle, and one may be unhappy due to various other factors, but if one adapts to the changed life and establishes values and a lifestyle, one will be able to live a happy life just by enjoying eternal life. Science and technology continue to advance, and someday, everyone will be able to enjoy eternal life. Thinking about how everyone can be happier than before if they are able to enjoy eternal life, and what we need to do to be happy, will be a shortcut to happiness for humanity.
