The Pros and Cons of Living Forever According to the Immortality Paradox

In an insightful TED-Ed Lesson written by Sarah Stroud and Michael Vazquez of the Parr Center for Ethics and directed by Skirmanta Jakaite, narrator Addison Anderson asks the question: If you had the chance to be immortal, would you take it?".

While cleaning out your uncle's attic you find a chest with a sparkling potion. The attached tag declares drinking this liquid will make you immortal. Your body will be frozen at its current age, and these effects would be final and irreversible. The instructions are clear - the only question is, do you drink the potion?

Anderson then explains the paradox of immortality, citing different philosophical opinions regarding the pros and cons of living forever.

You'd be free to enjoy a boundless horizon of exploration, pleasure, fulfillment, and novelty, all without the fear of death hanging over you. ...But philosopher Samuel Scheffler argues that temporal scarcity- meaning the lack of time- is essential to our valuing anything. It's precisely the fact that our time on Earth is limited that forces us to form our values, and determine what things are worth doing with the time we have.

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