Variations of cryonics — the long term storage of human beings, usually at low temperatures — have long been featured in science fiction. In stories involving space travel, it’s often used as a solution for long-duration journeys. But increasingly, this is not just the stuff of fiction anymore. 

The prospect of preserving ourselves, potentially indefinitely, forces us to ask some of the most profound questions we have ever faced: are we meant to transcend the boundaries of our mortal lives? What does it mean to be alive? If life can be extended, what happens to its meaning, urgency, and beauty? These questions, by turns technological, philosophical, ethical and even spiritual, are what we explore in this episode. 

Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnson, PhD is a neuroscientist who studies the nature of conscious experiences to better understand how we can preserve cognitive function. His book The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death (2024), explores the viability of delaying death and its societal implications. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the science of human preservation, definitions of life and death, broader questions about how we derive meaning from life, whether or not the finitude of human experience is essential to our conceptions of a well-lived life, our social contract with future generations, and more.

In this episode, you’ll hear about: 

2:44 - How Dr. Zeleznikow-Johnson became interested in the future of longevity

6:00 -  Dr. Zeleznikow-Johnson’s definitions of “life” and “death”

14:29 - Why Dr. Zeleznikow-Johnson thinks that believing death is inevitable is a form of “learned helplessness”

17:52 - The level of faith one would need to have in the future of technology to consent to cryosleep 

24:16: - Whether the finitude of human existence is essential to its meaning

29:05 - Whether every death is an inherent tragedy

30:25 - How the limitations of the human brain could impede longevity 

33:16 - The ethical dilemma that would arise due to the financial costs of this technology 

36:30 - Why Dr. Zeleznikow-Johnson is confident that cryonics will be successful 

46:42 - The core thesis of Dr. Zeleznikow-Johnson’s book The Future Loves You

50:15 - Whether immortality is a desirable objective

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to [email protected].

Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2024