Robert Ettinger - The Prospect of Immortality (1964) 

 

Book Description 

 

In the 1960s Robert Ettinger founded the cryonics (cryonic hibernation) movement and authored 'The Prospect Of Immortality'. (And in the 1970s Ettinger would help initiate the transhumanist revolution with his 'Man Into Superman'.) Ettinger sees "discontinuity in history, with mortality and humanity on one side -- on the other immortality and transhumanity." 

 

 

Chapters

 

Chapter 1. Frozen Death, Frozen Sleep, and Some Consequences
Suspended Life and Suspended Death
Future and Present Options
After a Moment of Sleep
Problems and Side Effects

Chapter II. The Effects of Freezing and Cooling
Long-term Storage
Successes in Freezing Animals and Tissues
The Mechanism of Freezing Damage
Frostbite
The Action of Protective Agents
The Persistence of Memory after Freezing
The Extent of Freezing Damage
Rapid Freezing and Perfusion Possibilities
The Limits of Delay in Treatment
The Limits of Delay in Cooling and Freezing
Maximum and Optimum Storage Temperature
Radiation Hazard

Chapter III. Repair and Rejuvenation
Revival after Clinical Death
Mechanical Aids and Prostheses
Transplants
Organ Culture and Regeneration
Curing Old Age

Chapter IV. Today's Choices
The Outer Limits of Optimism
Preserving Samples of Ourselves
Preserving the Information
Organization and Organizations
Emergency and Austerity Freezing
Freezing with Medical Cooperation
Individual Responsibility: Dying Children
Husbands and Wives, Aged Parents and Grandparents

Chapter V. Freezers and Religion
Revival of the Dead: Not a New Problem
The Question of God's Intentions
The Riddle of Soul
Suicide Is a Sin
God's Image and Religious Adaptability
Added Time for Growth and Redemption
Conflict with Revelation
The Threat of Materialism
Perspective

Chapter VI. Freezers and the Law
Freezers and Public Decency
Definitions of Death; Rights and Obligations of the Frozen
Life Insurance and Suicide
Mercy Killings
Murder
Widows, Widowers, and Multiple Marriages
Cadavers as Citizens
Potter's Freezer and Umbrellas

Chapter VII. The Economics of Immortality
The Solid Gold Computer
The View from Olympus: How Rich Can We Get?
The View from Olympus: How Fast Can We Spawn?
The Cost of Commercial Freezers
The Cost of Emergency Storage
Trust Funds and Security
World Relations

Chapter VIII. The Problem of Identity

Chapter IX. The Uses of Immortality
You, Better than New
The Purpose of Life

Chapter X. Manners, Modes, and Morals of Tomorrow
Beyond Beowulf
Stability and the Golden Rule
Possibilities of Stagnation and Decadence
An Eye for an Eye
Sex Morals and Family Life
The Question of Non-human Intelligent Entities
Some Near-term Developments

Chapter XI. The Freezer-Centered Society
Inevitability of a Freezer Program
No Generation of Martyrs
The Long View as Panacea
Time to Go Sane
Fools, Madmen, and Heroes
The Fallacy of Just-Freeze-the-Elite
Beginning of the Freezer Era - 1964?