(I have a similar problem with the “well, it’s better than cremation” argument, which seems to be little more than an applause light.)
I’m sure there are some people out there who use the argument that way. As I’ve normally heard it, though, it’s definitely not merely an applause light. As far as I know, we currently know of no feasible way even in principle to reverse death after cremation or long-term decay. However, we do know some ways that, in principle, we should be able to reverse freezing damage. We might turn out to be totally mistaken about that, but according to our current best information it seems very likely that we can save more of a person with future technology that is already in the pipeline provided the person is cryonically preserved.
Ergo, based on our current understanding, cryonics is better than cremation. Even if it poisons every cell in my body, at least the cells are there and can be examined in principle to reconstruct me. That’s very hard to do with dead bones or ashes.
The only serious argument I can see being formed against cryonics is something that demonstrates that the likelihood of it working is so trivially better than cremation or burial that it doesn’t justify the increased cost. This would require a very intense array of evidence against any future technology, including ones we haven’t thought of yet, ever being able to reverse damage that must be done in order to enact cryonics on a human being. Either that, or show that some likely future technology will make reversing cremation or burial easier than reversing cryonic suspension.
I can see why this can look like an applause light. In this case, though, I think that’s a result of summarizing something with a lot of passion behind it in one sentence.
That said, I’m heavily biased in favor of cryonics. If I’m missing some serious reason I should doubt it, I endeavor to be all ears!
I’m sure there are some people out there who use the argument that way. As I’ve normally heard it, though, it’s definitely not merely an applause light.
I agree, it’s not always used this way.
I can see why this can look like an applause light. In this case, though, I think that’s a result of summarizing something with a lot of passion behind it in one sentence.
I think you’ve hit on something very important—trying to summarize something and express your passion for it at the same time can look a lot like an appluse light, especially if you aren’t keeping the inferential distance in mind. Sometimes, though, the person doing the summarizing doesn’t actually know the sufficient detail and evidence behind the summary, in which case the summary is pretty much always an applause light (and a mysterious answer). Related: Understanding Your Understanding.
I’m sure there are some people out there who use the argument that way. As I’ve normally heard it, though, it’s definitely not merely an applause light. As far as I know, we currently know of no feasible way even in principle to reverse death after cremation or long-term decay. However, we do know some ways that, in principle, we should be able to reverse freezing damage. We might turn out to be totally mistaken about that, but according to our current best information it seems very likely that we can save more of a person with future technology that is already in the pipeline provided the person is cryonically preserved.
Ergo, based on our current understanding, cryonics is better than cremation. Even if it poisons every cell in my body, at least the cells are there and can be examined in principle to reconstruct me. That’s very hard to do with dead bones or ashes.
The only serious argument I can see being formed against cryonics is something that demonstrates that the likelihood of it working is so trivially better than cremation or burial that it doesn’t justify the increased cost. This would require a very intense array of evidence against any future technology, including ones we haven’t thought of yet, ever being able to reverse damage that must be done in order to enact cryonics on a human being. Either that, or show that some likely future technology will make reversing cremation or burial easier than reversing cryonic suspension.
I can see why this can look like an applause light. In this case, though, I think that’s a result of summarizing something with a lot of passion behind it in one sentence.
That said, I’m heavily biased in favor of cryonics. If I’m missing some serious reason I should doubt it, I endeavor to be all ears!
I agree, it’s not always used this way.
I think you’ve hit on something very important—trying to summarize something and express your passion for it at the same time can look a lot like an appluse light, especially if you aren’t keeping the inferential distance in mind. Sometimes, though, the person doing the summarizing doesn’t actually know the sufficient detail and evidence behind the summary, in which case the summary is pretty much always an applause light (and a mysterious answer). Related: Understanding Your Understanding.