I see very little point in answering a question when you will refuse to believe my answer. But, since you are inclined to push the issue...Overload wrote:You can be okay with the hand you've been dealt, but still answer a hypothetical. I wanted to know your answer, given a set of hypothetical parameters, but you answered with why you are okay with never having the opportunity to have that hypothetical choice. Again, that's fine, but I don't see why it precludes you from answering a hypothetical, and the hypothetical is not if you want to live forever, but if you'd choose, at the end of the day, to take a pill that guaranteed another day of health. Pill supply is never a problem, and you are guaranteed one every day should you choose it. I want to know if you'd even take the pill for even a day, or if you'd never touch it. I care less about your answer than I do your willingness to answer it. If you say you wouldn't take the pill, even for a day, I might be inclined to disbelieve you, but I'll respect your answer.jp1 wrote: I'm not dodging any questions at all, I simply don't believe there is an answer I can give you that will be satisfactory or solicit any other response than mockery or condescension.
I stated already my personal reasons for being satisfied with the cards I've been dealt, engaging in a debate about my religious beliefs is not something I'm going to entertain with you. I hope you can respect that.
Hypothetically, if such a pill existed it would be determined by what such a pill actually did. If the pill simply meant I would live and be relatively healthy ( no cancer, no horrible disease) yet still age, then perhaps I would consider it's merits. If, on the other hand, the pill would alter my genetic makeup in some way in order to accomplish this task of "making me healthy" in such a manner that my life will be artificially extended, then no. Unequivocally, if the means to such an end would change my genetic makeup I would not touch it.
Already I make choices to eat healthy, exercise, get checkups, and take medications if absolutely necessary for things such as blood pressure. I was able to get myself to a healthy enough state to discontinue most medications and my goal is to continue that process.
Lastly, since I'm sure you will ask. If the pill did not alter my genetic makeup, if it simply meant "one more healthy day"; If I could simply feel like I was eighteen again for a day...I do not know, I may be persuaded to take it from time to time. As I've already said, it isn't a moral issue for me. However, I would not take the pill to any extent that I would be living a significantly longer life.
Look. Cancer, Alzheimer's, and a hundred other horrible diseases are out there. I'm not about to spit in the face of people who deal with them first hand by making comments on how they are part of some grand plan that these people aren't privy to or do not believe in. These are horrible diseases, I'd love to see an end to them. But again, I'm not inclined to partake in such a cure if it means altering my genes.
The idea of not only what happens after death, but what it means is so fundamental to our difference of opinion on the matter that I do not feel we can possibly understand one another in the manner you want us to. I certainly understand your stance on the matter, understanding mine would require a fundamental difference in the way you think. That isn't an insult, it's simply the way it is.
I'm not sure how there is any correlation between that and the discussion at hand, but I hope that will quell your curiosity.
But fuck cockroaches.. They will outlast us all.
