Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization

By Stephen Cave

Categories: History, Religion & Spirituality

Philosopher Stephen Cave argues that the desire to defeat death has driven much of human civilization. He describes four narratives people use to imagine immortality: staying alive, resurrection, the soul and legacy. Cave traces each through history, religion and science, and examines why each fails. He concludes with a view of how to accept mortality and live a good life.

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• Shane Parrish: “A book about life and death in the form of a philosophical investigation into our desire to perpetuate ourselves into the future; our will toward immortality, if you will. The book looks at this through the four basic immortality narratives: Staying Alive, Resurrection, Soul, and Legacy”