I'm not sure people will always HAVE to die, at least not from old age. While futurists/transhumanists such as Ray Kurzweil may be overly optimistic (or perhaps their estimates will end up being conservative ...), radical extension of lifespan seems entirely possible to me, and I feel that, being only 22 now, barring accidents I'm apt to make it to at least 90 naturally, and a lot could happen in ~70 years with technology's rapid advances.
That said, I'm generally okay with death, at least my own, as I've already been close to passing on, spent time in the hospital with doctors not knowing if I'd pull through, and then somehow fully recovered to the point that tests look as if nothing ever happened. For now, I'm here to develop myself, to experience life and see what happens, to become more adept at operating outside my body before fully leaving it.
In fact I think that death may be less necessary if/when people can leave their bodies at will. To more fully embrace and live in my body will also be good. I basically keep going in order to see what'll happen next, and what the next few centuries will hold should be quite interesting.
|