The Future Loves You - How and Why We Should Abolish Death

From ventilators to brain implants, medicine has been blurring what it means to die. In a lucid description of modern neuroscientific thinking, Zeleznikow-Johnston explains that death is not the loss of breath, but of personal identity - that the core of our identities is our minds, and that our minds are encoded in the structure of our brains. On this basis, he explores how recent discoveries now offer us all the chance of preserving our minds for future revival. Whether they discovered cures or fought for justice, we are grateful to those of our ancestors who helped craft a kinder world. Yet while our forebears cannot enjoy the world they helped build, this new preservation technology gives us each a personal stake in the future. Because if we work together to create a better world for our descendants, then just maybe, the future will love us enough to bring us back.

About the author

Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston is a neuroscientist at Monash University, Australia, where he investigates methods for characterising the nature of conscious experiences. In 2019, he obtained his PhD from The University of Melbourne, where he researched how genetic and environmental factors affect cognition. His research interests range from the decline, preservation and rescue of cognitive function at different stages of the lifespan, through to comparing different people’s conscious experience of colour.

By contributing to research that clarifies the neurobiological, cognitive, and philosophical basis of what it is to be a person, he hopes to accelerate the development of medical infrastructure that will help prevent him and everyone else from dying.

Report

Zeleznikow-Johnston's enthusiasm is intoxicating Simon Ings, Best Science Books of 2024 The Telegraph

Product details

• Authors: Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 28.11.2024
• EAN: 9780241655894
• ISBN: 978-0-241-65589-4
• No. of pages: 368
• Dimensions: 165 mm x 240 mm x 30 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Psychology, esoterics, spirituality, anthroposophy > Psychology: general, reference works; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Future Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Death & Dying, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Forecasting, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Social Aspects, SCIENCE / Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Science, SCIENCE / Ethics, Social forecasting, future studies, Neurosciences, Cognitive studies, Sociology: death and dying, Cryogenics