Category Archives: Immortality

This view that humanity is essentially a destroyer leads from Anthropocene antihumanism to Kirschs other main topic: transhumanism. The corruption of our species that makes our destruction as a result of climate change inevitable goes hand in hand with the transhumanist view that the human species must be replaced.

In his analysis of transhumanism, Kirschs presentation goes even further to make its adherents seem more convincing than they actually are. Some readers may be attracted to the antihumanist idea that our inherent corruption has led us to the brink of disaster but repelled by their embrace of extinction. Transhumanism seems to offer a more hopeful option. Instead of simply letting humanity go, transhumanists propose to replace us with something better. Their embrace of technology that can create a new, posthuman species makes them look like saviors compared to the Anthropocene antihumanists. As Kirsch writes, according to transhumanists, Its true that humanity has reached a point where our technological power threatens to destroy us. But if that power continues to grow at the same pace it has over the past two hundred years, it will become the means of our salvation.

There are two big assumptions involved here that Kirsch helpfullyfor transhumanismfails to unpack. The first is that technological progress from the past to the present can be projected into the future. This makes predictions of the posthuman seem logical rather than ideological. The second is that replacement is our salvation. Transhumanists assume that technological progress will culminate in a new step in human evolution where the posthuman wont really replace us but will instead improve usextend our existence in a new and better form. In other words, transhumanism requires that we can remove our identities, conceived basically as software, from our bodies and simply move them onto new hardware.

Kirsch does point out that transhumanism has an innate tendency to overpromise and that the big breakthroughs always seem to lie just over the horizon. But he then immediately defends the prognostications of transhumanists by claiming that they are extrapolating from developments that are undeniably real.

Many of these developments, however, are both deniable and not real. For example, without citing evidence, Kirsch echoes transhumanist claims that we know that the human mind has a completely material basis and that the brain itself is a computer. This means that we can have an uploaded mind in the virtual reality of the metaverse where we will need our physical bodies as only a substrate for our virtual ones. Alternatively, through laser porting, we can free our consciousness to explore the galaxy or even the universe at the speed of light. Kirsch doesnt treat these claims with enough skepticism.

Philosophers have long aimed to overcome this kind of simplistic Cartesian mind-body dualism. Even Descartes did not think the mind could actually be separated from the body. He denied that the relationship between mind and body is comparable to that between a sailor and a ship. Our minds cannot be reduced to our brains, and our brains cannot be reduced to computers. What has come to be known as the hard problem of consciousness (explaining how something entirely physical can possibly be conscious) remains unsolved. And it may remain so, despite the confidence of some scientists and philosophers. Similarly, the hard problems of the metaversethat no one has legs, for example, or that no one seems to want to use itmay remain unsolved as well. Mark Zuckerberg, it seems, has already gotten bored and pivoted to something else.

Yet it must be recognized that whether or not these developments are currently real, or even possible, is less important than whether they sound plausible to investors. Even more tempting and persistent than mind-body dualism is the idea of immortality. And there is perhaps no one for whom it is more tempting than the aging billionaires nowhere near done spending their money and enjoying their lifestyles. Transhumanist tech companies promising digital immortality are, therefore, attractive investments. Of course, were such mind uploading to become possible, only the wealthiest would be able to afford it. Still, investment in digital immortality might eventually begin to sound reasonable, especially if Anthropocene antihumanism has made it seem futile to use that money to combat climate change instead.

Anthropocene antihumanism and transhumanism do not just involve a revolt against humanity, but a revolt against responsibility. Combined, they make the CEOs of tech companies look like our saviors rather than our destroyers. Those who have become wealthy by destroying the planet in the name of technological progress can use that destruction to justify their pursuit of further technological progress, which now appears as the only solution to the crisis they helped to cause. Kirsch suggests that ultimately, transhumanists and antihumanists could converge on an ideal of extinction, with rapacious humanity making way for wiser virtual beings who tread more lightly on the planet, but this vision reinforces the fantasy that tech companies are a solution to climate change rather than among the drivers of it. The creation of virtual beings requires massive data centers and massive amounts of electricity, and so the pursuit of transhumanism reinforces Anthropocene antihumanism, much like Anthropocene antihumanism reinforces transhumanism.

Fittingly, given the nihilism behind both Anthropocene antihumanism and transhumanism, Kirsch concludes by discussing Nietzsche. Nietzsche railed against the ascetic priests he thought offered nothing but cures to the diseases they were spreading. In the same way, he would have rejected both Anthropocene antihumanism and transhumanism for not only seeing humanity as fundamentally sick, but for offering solutions that can only serve to make humanity sicker. Kirsch worries that these views are convincing enough to have an impact on society whether or not they are correct, but too often he is unwilling to point out basic flaws in these views or the interests they serve. Anthropocene antihumanism and transhumanism are dangerous not only because they might stop people from caring about the destruction of the planet, but because they embolden the people actually destroying it.

This piece was published as part of a symposium aboutThe Revolt Against Humanity. For more of the symposium, read:

To see the full collection, click here. To listen to an interview with Adam Kirsch on theCommonweal Podcast, clickhere.

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Posthumanisms Revolt Against Responsibility - Commonweal

For National Authors Day on Nov. 1, the University of Mary Washington is sharing a few of the latest books from faculty authors.

From fields as diverse as English, physics and political science, these professors have penned a new collection of poetry, an expos about the most brilliant of minds and a text that traces the evolution of late-night political humor.

Read on!

Award-winning poetry by Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Laura Bylenok.

An exploration of transformative thinkers by Professor Emeritus of Physics Bulent Atalay.

A look at late-night political humor co-authored by Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth.

Living Room

By Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Laura Bylenok Published by University of Nebraska Press, Oct. 1, 2022

Bylenoks most recent book, Living Room, won the Backwaters Prize in Poetry. The text explores life at a cellular level, coaxing readers to slow down and use their senses. The network of poems explores such themes as grief, motherhood, mortality and self by weaving scientific ideas together with ethereal language.

Poems in the collection describe the lived reality of various types of life, including animals, plants and bacteria conjuring lessons in biology, genetics and neurochemistry and also such things as buildings and rocks in a poignantly poetic way.

Language becomes solid, palpable as fruit, reads the books description. Long lines propel breath and push past the lungs capacity.

I wroteLiving Roomas an act of empathy, an attempt to understand being human by trying to put myself into nonhuman experience, Bylenok said.

Language is a tool for understanding our world, and I experiment with perspective and metaphor to get to some sense of self human, non, genetic, generational, fractioned, fragmented that allows being multiple and simultaneously always incomplete. Its a book full of grief and family trauma and a book of forgiveness and self-forgiveness. I wrote it to get at that, to practice listening to the parts of my brain and the world that dont make narrative sense but constitute us nonetheless.

Bylenok also is the author of Warpanda/0. Her poetry has appeared in the likes of Crazyhorse, Guernica, Ninth Letter,Arts & Letters andDIAGRAM. She holds a bachelors degree from the University of Washington, an MFA from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing from the University of Utah.

Beyond Genius: A Journey Through the Characteristics and Legacies of Transformative Minds By Professor Emeritus of Physics Bulent Atalay Published by Pegasus Books, Nov. 7, 2023

In his most recent book, Beyond Genius, Atalay explores the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Ludwig von Beethoven and Albert Einstein, all considered transformative geniuses who redefined their fields or introduced new realms of thought.

The book examines the elusive concept of genius and how these five masterminds seemed to leap effortlessly from one monumental achievement to another. In dissecting their habits and traits, however, Atalay maps their paths to immortality, revealing patterns in their lives and legacies, and finding that the men fit more of a mold than one might imagine.

Where did these masters draw inspiration to produce some of the most stunning achievements in human history? the books description on Amazon asks. Were their brains wired differently than ours?

Atalay is also the author ofMath and the Mona LisaandLeonardos Universe. He was a professor of physics at UMW and, concurrently, an adjunct professor of mathematics at the University of Virginia and a member of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton.

Late-Night in Washington: Political Humor and the American Presidency By Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth Published by Routledge, Sept. 1, 2023

With co-authors S. Robert Lichter and Farah Latif of George Mason University, Farnsworth continues his quest to explore late-night political humor in his most recent book, Late-Night in Washington.

On the heels of his 2019 publication, Late Night With Trump: Political Humor and the American Presidency, Farnsworths new book continues to investigate this celebrated comedic genre and its relation to the United States commander in chief.

Late-Night in Washington cites everything from Richard Nixons appearance onLaugh-Into Donald Trumps avatar onSaturday Night Live, considering also how late-night comedy treats Joe Biden, who arguably offers less comedy fodder than his predecessor.

Using content analysis, public opinion surveys, and other quantitative and qualitative research, this book is for students and scholars of politics and media, as well as political pundits and the general public.

Farnsworth also has authored or co-authored The Nightly News Nightmare: Media Coverage of U.S. Presidential Elections, 1988-2008; Presidential Communication and Character: White House News Management from Clinton and Cable to Twitter and Trump; Spinner in Chief: How Presidents Sell Their Policies and Themselves; The Mediated Presidency: Television News and Presidential Governance and The Global President: International Media and the US Government. He is director of UMWs Center for Media and Leadership Studies.

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Cold-Weather Reading: Cozy Up With UMW Faculty Members' New ... - University of Mary Washington

Ahsoka hasdone the maximum to expand the Star Wars canon. Through Ahsoka, Dave Filoni has brought many ideas and characters that previously existed only in books and animation to live-action, ensuring that the franchise moves forward with endless possibilities for the future.

While the Mortis Gods play a significant role in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, the wider Star Wars audience that hasnt seen the animated series has little to no knowledge of their existence. Ahsoka changed this and opened a door of possibilities by introducing the Gods of Mortis on Peridea. However, The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels have only introduced 3 of the Morits Gods: the Father, the Son, and the Daughter. That might change in Ahsoka Season 2 as all signs point to the series bringing yet another powerful divine entity from Star Wars Legends to the canon: the Mother.

And whats more, the Mother could be Shmi Skywalker, a character were all very familiar with.

Shmi Skywalker is an important name in Star Wars, and for good reason. Shes Anakin Skywalkers mother, but according to a new theory, there may be more to Shmi Skywalker than we thought. Shmis home planet is unknown, but she and her parents were sold into slavery in 66 BBY. She spent most of her life as a slave on Tatooine and gave birth to Anakin Skywalker in 41 BBY. According to Shmi, Anakin had no father, and she raised him on her own.

Years later, Anakin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano were called to the realm of Mortis by the Father. The Father is the keeper of balance between his children, the Son and the Daughter, both of whom represent the two sides of the Force. The Fathers wish was for Anakin to take his place as he was getting too old for the job. Anakin refused, and after a harrowing ordeal in which all three of the Mortis Gods perished, Anakin and his Jedi friends all escaped Mortis. But according to a new theory, the Father may have called on Anakin because Anakin was his son, and Shmi Skywalker may have been the Mother, or Abeloth, a character from the Star Wars Legends novel Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse.

In Legends, Abeloth was a mortal who became a powerful dark Force entity to achieve immortality. Abeloth was a servant to the 3 Mortis Gods, and as a result of her bond with them, she came to be known as the Mother and completed their family. However, due to her mortality, Abeloth grew fearful of losing her family, which led her to bathe in the Pool of Knowledge and drink from the Font of Power. Her actions corrupted her, and she became so evil that the Father abandoned her and took his children with him. While the Mortis Gods died in the Star Wars Canon, perhaps Abeloth is still out there. Many fans believe that its Abeloth whos calling out to Baylan Skoll on Peridea, and her return could be bad news for the galaxy.

Both Shmi and Abeloth spent most of their lives serving others, and both were abandoned by their families. Both are mother figures, though only Shmi has a biological child. But the question is, whos Anakins father? Did Darth Sidious manipulate the midi-chlorians to create Anakin, or is Anakin someone elses son? Perhaps the Father called Anakin to Mortis because Anakin is his son and, therefore, a demi-God. How could this be possible?

Shmi Skywalker was sold repeatedly and may have ended up on Mortis at some point in her life. However, just like Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka, she has no memory of what happened to her on Mortis. Shmi might have visited Mortis and conceived a child with the Father, but after losing all memory of events there, she started to believe that Anakin had no father.

If true, this explains the importance of Anakin Skywalker as The Chosen One beyond just his role of bringing balance to the Force. Perhaps Anakin wasnt only meant to bring balance to the Force but meant to keep that balance as well. He was the Fathers natural successor because the Father is more than just a divine entity, but family. This completes the family of Mortis Gods, with Shmi representing the missing piece as the Mother or Abeloth. At the end of Ahsoka, Anakin may be doing more than just fulfilling his duties as Ahsokas master. Anakin may also be doing what the Father asked of him and keeping the balance between the dark and light sides of the Force, and this is a role Anakin may have to fulfill for a long time to come.

Whether Shmi has any connection to Abeloth is something only time will tell. However, Abeloth may soon join Star Wars Canon and pose the biggest threat to peace in the galaxy since Darth Sidious.

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Theory: Is Shmi Skywalker actually Abeloth from Legends? - Dork Side of the Force

Fate plans to take revenge on Hado by letting him find him so that he can kill him at last. Berserk of Gluttony Episode 5 will continue Fate's story and reveal how his revenge plan unfolds. The new episode is set to premiere this week.

The final release date of the next episode of the anime will be November 2, 2023, as per the schedule of Crunchyroll. All the episodes of the anime will be found only on the official pages of Crunchyroll. We will be sure to update this section as soon as there is any more detail on this.

The title of the fifth episode of Berserk of Gluttony will be 'To Galla.' In the next outing, Fate may finally confront Hado and exact revenge for his past wrongdoings. Roxy embarks on her perilous mission, facing danger in Galia. Gluttony's hunger for powerful souls could pose a growing threat. Aisha's impending death weighs heavily on Fate's shoulders as he attempts to support Roxy.

Meanwhile, Rafale and Memil continue their quest for immortality, delving deeper into mysterious forces. The future holds uncertainty and danger for the characters in this unfolding story.

The title of the previous episode of Berserk of Gluttony was 'Crowned Beast.' In this episode, we see Fate, known as the Corpse Lich, meeting Roxy at the Hart vineyards, where her mother senses an attraction between them. Kobolds threaten the vineyards, and Fate encounters a mysterious Galian girl. Roxy leads a hunt, unaware of the presence of a deadly Crowned Kobold.

Fate kills the Crowned Kobold, but Gluttony's hunger becomes uncontrollable. Roxy suspects the Galian girl. Aisha, terminally ill, secretly entrusts Fate with supporting Roxy. Gluttony craves more powerful souls, turning one eye red. Hado hunts Fate, and Roxy, manipulated by the Vlericks, accepts a dangerous mission. Rafale and Memil seek immortality in Tenburn. Unable to stop corruption, Fate plans revenge on Hado.

It will be interesting to see what the story brings to the table. At last, keep an eye on Pinkvilla for more intel on this.

ALSO READ:6 Time Travel anime to watch if you can't get enough of Marvel's Loki Season 2 on Disney; Tokyo Revengers, and Steins;Gate are a must watch

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Berserk of Gluttony Episode 5: Fate's revenge; release date, where to watch and more - PINKVILLA

Just outside the city of Clemson, South Carolina, on a two-lane bypass around the main highway into town, stands Macs Drive-In, a Clemson touchstone for more than half a century. Its tiny, not much bigger than a high-school classroom, and every free surface is covered in Clemson Tiger memorabilia, from glossy photos to autographed pants to a goal post that wraps around one corner.

The Dabo Swinney years have presented a welcome new challenge to the nearly 60-year-old diner: How to fit piles of new championship merchandise into an already-stuffed diner. A championship banner hangs in front of the goalpost. Over in one corner, a photo of a gloating Swinney next to an ACC champion trophy leans against a plastic tiger atop a Toy Taxi claw machine. But the odds are very good that there wont be many relics of the 2023 Tigers adorning the walls of Macs anytime soon.

Theres a sign that hangs throughout Clemsons football palace, too: Best is the Standard. In Swinneys tenure, theyve hit that standard more often than not. Clemson has exactly one losing season: his second, in 2010, when the Tigers finished 6-7. Since then, Clemson has won double-digit games every single year, captured two national championships and seven of the past eight ACC championships.

But the Tigers are now in a full-on headed-for-the-guardrails skid. As recently as last year, Clemson was 8-0 in the ACC, but losses to Notre Dame and South Carolina cost the Tigers a chance at the College Football Playoff. Clemson this year is 4-4, just 2-4 in conference play, and looking as lost as it ever has under Swinneys illustrious reign. Those two ACC wins came against Syracuse and Wake Forest, which have a combined conference record of 1-8. Clemsons other two wins have come against 4-4 Florida Atlantic and Charleston Southern of the FCS.

On the field, quarterbacks D.J. Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik havent matched the national championship standard of Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson. Turnovers have brutalized the Tigers, who can now only watch as Florida State, Duke, North Carolina and NC State race past them up the ACC standings.

Rage and frustration have been simmering for a while now in Clemson, and everything boiled over on Monday night, when Tyler from Spartanburg called into Swinneys radio show and launched himself into college football fan immortality. Tyler needled Swinney into a defensive, defiant five-minute rant both justifying his own accomplishments and ripping those who would doubt him and his team.

"The expectation is greater than the appreciation. And that's the problem, Swinney seethed. "We've won 12 10-plus-win seasons in a row. That's happened three times in 150 years. So if you wanna know why. Clemson ain't sniffed a national championship for 35 years. We've won two in seven years. And there's only two other teams that can say that: Georgia and Alabama. OK?"

Its a long, hard fall for a school that was trading haymakers with kaiju like Alabama and Ohio State so recently that its current seniors were freshmen. Put it this way: At this point in the season, nobodys paying attention to the 10th-place teams in the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 or Pac-12 anymore. Yes, Clemson is now in the company of Auburn, Northwestern, Texas Tech and Cal. Maybe the Pride of Spartanburg did Clemson a favor, or maybe Tyler just reminded everyone of how far from grace this years squad now stands.

Its entirely possible that Swinney used Tyler from Spartanburg as a handy motivational catapult, much like a baseball manager getting himself thrown out of a game to fire up his team. Consensus seems to have coalesced on the idea that Tyler was pretty harsh given the woeful state of Clemson before Swinney but also that its perfectly fine to expect better than 4-4 out of a coach with an eight-figure annual salary.

Assessments of whats gone wrong with Clemson center on a few key facts: Swinneys reluctance to look outside the Tiger family for help, his deep aversion to the transfer portal, the programs failure to produce stars who can achieve greatness out of the gate the way Lawrence, Watson and Travis Etienne did. Swinney is like a poker player who once held a mountain of chips and is now down to a handful; he can play his way back into the game, but hell have to be smart, disciplined and opportunistic in a way hes never been before.

In the wake of Mondays spectacle, this weekends game takes on a whole new meaning. Notre Dame arrives in Death Valley a three-point favorite in a matchup that surely looked a whole lot more appealing a few years ago when it was scheduled. Now its just a chance for two dented blue-chip programs to burnish their reputations at the others expense.

When someone writes the story of the Swinney Years at Clemson, the Tyler from Spartanburg Incident might be the spark that gets Clemson fired up again, or the last splash of water that doused whatever flickering flame was left. We wont know for a while yet, but well get a sense over the next few games; after the Irish, Clemson faces Georgia Tech, North Carolina and South Carolina with a bowl bid and self-respect still on the line.

The question now is whether Clemson under Swinney will have more high points to look forward to or whether it will have to be content with all the memorabilia of past glories.

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Dabo Swinney and Clemson have our attention again, but can they ... - Yahoo Sports

Much of the plot is shown through secret footage the player reveals by manipulating the footage from the films, TV interviews, etc.; because of this, the plot progresses in a non-chronological, broken narrative format. This synopsis follows chronological order.

Two immortal beings, "The One" and "The Other", predate humanity and are able to live indefinitely by taking on the forms of humans and living their lives. This ostensibly ends the human's life, though elements of their personalities and memories mingle with the beings' own personalities and memories. Their kind's numbers have dwindled since human civilization began. They can regenerate from being killed, though some methods, especially burning, are implied to be physically permanent.

The One is fascinated with humanity, particularly their proclivities for sex, violence, and art. The Other is ambivalent toward Humanity, seeing them as inferior copies of the immortal beings, and believes that the immortals and humans should exist separate from each other. However, they indulge The One in their exploration of humanity.

The One becomes Marissa Marcel, a French girl who is implied to have been mortally wounded by German soldiers in World War II and absorbed by The One as a mercy. In 1968 she auditions and is awarded a role in Ambrosio, a film based on the gothic novel The Monk by Matthew Lewis. During filming she becomes romantically involved with director of photography John Durick. The film's director, Arthur Fischer, steals the negatives, which prevents the film from ever being released.

Two years later, John directs Minsky, a detective story set in New York City's avant-garde art world. Marissa is lead and co-writer. The Other takes the form of lead actor Carl Greenwood. While filming a scene, Marissa shoots and kills Carl with a prop gun at point blank range. To the rest of the cast and crew, this appears to be a tragic accident; the truth is that The One intentionally killed The Other. Carl's death causes filming to halt, and the film is never released. Marissa reveals to John her and Carl's true natures as immortals, and that she killed Carl. John is horrified by this, which disappoints The One. They kill John and takes on his form, shedding Marissa's form. The general public assumes Marissa became a recluse.

Nearly 30 years later, Fischer gives the negatives from Ambrosio to John in an attempt to free himself from deathbed regrets. The nostalgia causes The One to remember Marissa fondly and take on her form simultaneously with John's form, essentially existing in two bodies at once. Meanwhile, actress Amy Archer watches footage of Carl's death, which allows The Other to take her form. John, Marissa, and Amy begin work on a new film, Two of Everything, where pop star Maria allows her coincidentally-identical body double Heather to take her place at a billionaire's birthday party. John directs and Marissa plays both Maria and Heather (paralleling The One's attempt to exist as two people). Amy plays the billionaire's wife who has Heather murdered, thinking she is Maria, to cover up an attempted rape by her husband. During filming, Marissa is sometimes unresponsive and suffers nosebleeds, and both she and John occasionally collapse in exhaustion. John is frequently absent during filming, implying that he vanishes when The One cannot maintain both forms. Amy pleads with Marissa to take breaks, but Marissa rebuffs her concerns. In the movie's last-filmed scene, Marissa spontaneously bleeds from her head. The One asks the Other to help her die onscreen as The Other did, and therefore become truly immortalized in film. Amy films herself burning an inert Marissa's body. Two of Everything never finishes filming.

The grid containing the clips they've collected during the game slowly disappears, revealing the face of The One. They tell the player they are "part of you, now," implying the player is their new host.

Immortality received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[12][13]

In an early review due to its print format, Edge awarded Immortality a perfect 10/10 score, the 24th game in its history to do so.[25]

In addition, Immortality has been praised for its acting performances, notably that of Manon Gage, who has received critical acclaim for her performance as Marissa Marcel. Edge called her performance "outstanding." Vulture's Lewis Gordon called it "a knockout performance."[26] PJ O'Reilly of Pure Xbox said Gage "provides a core performance that marks her out as an absolute superstar in the making."[27] Vice's Cameron Kunzelman noted: "...watching Gage play Marcel playing these characters is like watching someone juggle while riding a unicycle in the middle of the Indy 500, and she does it perfectly and without breaking a sweat. Its really something."[28]

Charlotta Mohlin has also been praised for her performance, with Edge calling her "remarkable",[25] and Tristan Ogilvie of IGN calling her "spellbinding."[29] Well Played AU's James Wood said "[Mohlin's] work is something I will be thinking about for years to come."[30] Nate Hermanson of Video Games Are Good noted Mohlin "[makes] us cry, laugh, shudder, and blush in almost every scene she [is] in."[31]

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Immortality (video game) - Wikipedia