A transhumanist, singulatarian, or cryonicist might be able to say that they do have /something/ which is close enough to fit into the appropriate slot, thus raising their standing from ‘untrustworthy barbarian’ to ‘semi-trustworthy member of not-my-religion’.
But aren’t cryonicists engaging in precisely the sort of defection that we are proposing that belief in the afterlife combats? At the end of their natural lives, they’re using their power to pool resources unto themselves, rather than passing it on to the unambiguously living. Most people donate everything to children or charity after death. Cryonics is hardly effecting altruism.
Note—The above statement is not to be interpreted as opposition to cryonics.
It isn’t so much the resources that are the point here (and even if they were, cryo is a lot cheaper than commonly believed), as the expectation that the game-of-life (or -of-afterlife) will continue to the indefinite future; the acknowledgement by the non-theist that any actions they take before their death will have consequences and resonances into the far-flung (possibly infinite) future; that they expect to face some sort of judgement for any wrongdoings they do, even if it’s applied by advanced forensics and an earthly judiciary rather than a divine one.
But aren’t cryonicists engaging in precisely the sort of defection that we are proposing that belief in the afterlife combats? At the end of their natural lives, they’re using their power to pool resources unto themselves, rather than passing it on to the unambiguously living. Most people donate everything to children or charity after death. Cryonics is hardly effecting altruism.
Note—The above statement is not to be interpreted as opposition to cryonics.
It isn’t so much the resources that are the point here (and even if they were, cryo is a lot cheaper than commonly believed), as the expectation that the game-of-life (or -of-afterlife) will continue to the indefinite future; the acknowledgement by the non-theist that any actions they take before their death will have consequences and resonances into the far-flung (possibly infinite) future; that they expect to face some sort of judgement for any wrongdoings they do, even if it’s applied by advanced forensics and an earthly judiciary rather than a divine one.