From: Natasha Vita-More (natasha@natasha.cc)
Date: Mon Apr 30 2001 - 21:43:25 MDT
At 06:55 PM 4/30/01 -0500, Harvey wrote:
>I prefer the term "legally dead", which implies maybe not medically dead, or
>the phrase "dead by today's standards", which implies that this might not be
>considered dead in the future.
You are correct, Harvey. Cryonics patients are "legally dead." They are
also "suspended" To call them "dead" is inexact. The concept of "death"
and "dead" does pertain to a psychological acceptance in longer giving
credence to the life in a person, body, mind or essence. "Dead" is a
dead-end, out of existence and gone forever. To say a person in cryonic
suspension is dead is as credulous as saying art is dead. What the author
is saying, on the sideline however, is that she/he no longer accepts the
person in a living state, or a partial living state.
If a person is not a cryonicist and says a patient is dead, the inference
is that she/he does not respect the technology of cryonics or the views of
cryonicists. To say a person is "reversibly dead" is paradoxical in
phrase, but it's accurate inasmuch as legally dead has relevance to the
medical community.
If the goal is to defy death, then it's probably a pretty good idea to not
use memes that confuse. Alternatively, maybe death will take on a new
meaning ending the finality of its pursuit.
Natasha
Natasha Vita-More
http://www.natasha.cc
Book - Create/Recreate: The 3rd Millennial Culture
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