At first glance, this topic is out of place, and not to mention quite similiar to many of the if you could have eternal life.
Same... but different.

I wonder if you all have seen The Fountain, starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz
The story tells of a man who has practically lived a millenium to learn the true meaning and understanding to accept life, death and rebirth (very evangelion), and come to understand what is the meaning of being a part of forever, to love forever, and to live forever.
The film can be a bit confusing at parts, but what is the understanding and experience as given by the story was priceless:

Is mankind or anykind truly and should be allowed to live forever?

The story tells of in the Garden of Eden, there exist two trees, Tree of Knowledge, and the Tree of Life, we all know WTF happened after rib woman and donor man (pardon the pun) decide to grab the fruit from the former after being convinced by a magical talking snake. The other tree was hidden and protected by a fiery sword to prevent man from finding it.


Then, this thread talks about the movie, and the ultimate question:

Is man meant to live forever? If we could one day, find the ultimate drug, maybe even this mythical tree of life? If we can harvest the fruit of eternity? What moral implications could it mean? Was it meant to be if we find it? Would it be a curse to live forever? As Hugh Jackman came to understand after losing his loved one, is it ever a joy to became forever? To see the world as time washes it over and over again, excluding oneself from the eternal?


Was love meant to be eternal? If we could live forever? Shouldn't love be eternal as well?

I know that is a lot of questions, but you can take your perspective to answer it.

Seem we are not, otherwise we wouldn't die. Whoops that's me as a non-believer.
I guess that you do believe in a God? Well if you do dearest then I sure cannot help you.

Hmm,
Some fairly heavy philosophical implications here in your question. It would depend upon your outlook on what it means to live forever. If we cold achieve eternal youth as well as eternal life then it would be tempting. Yet, I think that we'd end up with boredom or utter stagnation to the point of being driven insane. There is a limit to how many ways that events can occur. After an endless repetition of them, a person's mind would be starved for some form of something new.
However, being somewhat romantic, I would hope that love would be eternal. If you had all the time in the world wouldn't you be willing to take the time to get to know someone you cherished as deeply as you could.
Not certain that I've properly expressed myself as to my thoughts there. I'd think that eternal life without someone to share it with would be a torment beyond imagining. Otherwise after a while time would simply wash away your sanity as life replayed it's events over and over again in front of you.
Chonrad

Looking at human nature, i don't think we would be the right species to have immortality. if we do someday mass produce an ultimate drug greed and arrogance would probably take over. we would hoard all the resources we can find and proclaim ourselves superior to other life forms and even each other.

but if a select few were to obtain this, well if they are smart about it they could blend into society but there might be those who would use their life long connections to rise to the type echelons of society, even if it means controlling others. i have a very pessimistic view of human nature.

I learned that the everytime the human cell divides, a piece of the telemerase is lost. Therefore, eventually our cells will start losing DNA pieces that are more vital to the cell's complete "data" and that will cause problems. Though cancer cells do not lose telemerase (maybe some do, but from what I heard, cancer cells do not "die" by constant division/reproduction), they do not stop "growing" and end up smushing into other cells... "healthy cells", and causes problems.

Anyway, because we have this telemerase part of the DNA (as well as that "telemerase enzyme (?)" that maintains it but eventually disappears as we no longer produce them), the situation seems like that we are biologically a ticking bomb... or rather a stick of dynomite "death" operated by burning a string with a match...

Otherwise... if one was to live a lot longer... what would be the meaning and purpose? Are you to assume one remains "healthy" and "functional" without the crippling effects of age? Are you implying that we reach the part where we can simply delay death further? It really depends on the situation and I doubt we really know till we can reach or at least observe that state. I bet a lot of things will change from the human species living longer... for one... reproduction rate. What about effects of wars and other causes of death that is not determined by age limit? How will perceptions change about war, etc.? Good stuff to think about and talk about... but we just won't really know yet, IMO.

With that said, not even touching the though of "immortality" in terms of normal lifespan.

Short answer: Maybe. There's nothing wrong with humanity living on. In a sense, as long as there is some kind of form that can recognize and at the very least grasp the universe then all is well.

In a strictly biological sense, it wouldn't matter if the lineage of man persists in the universe until the end of time. Humanity is only a speck on a speck on a speck of a grain of a grain of sand and rock in the universe. What becomes of us means nothing relative to the rest.

However, the odds are stacked against us. If man were to devise a way to extend individual life, there is still no stopping natural universe from erasing the being of mankind if it ever calls our card. If nature selects humanity to be done with in order for new life to rise then we can do nothing to stop her from making it so.

Mankind is not above nature regardless of our understanding of her operations and how we manipulate that knowledge for our own gain. Extending a person's life is only a fraction of the answer if we wanted to keep our stake. We are still bound to earth and if earth dies, we die...as of now atleast.

There are countless natural occurences that can wipe out all life on this planet: asteroids, meteors, gamma ray bursts (which are virtually undetectable and unstoppable beams of immense energy caused by dying stars, etc...)...basically whatever your preference on how it ends. If nature truly chooses us to go then we have no other choice.

Don't get me wrong though. I'm not one to just sit back and wait for it all to end. As a species we are constantly being tested to prove that we deserve life. Natural disaster, illnesses, all that could possibly happen are tests. Humanity has to fight to survive, to pass. We have to do everything in our power to make sure the next generation lives on. Yet, if by chance nature says time is up and our actions ultimately fail down to the last moment, then that's when it can't be stopped. Overall, we had a good run in this life.

The only sure thing that will live on forever is the memory of humanity. Our existance will forever be long after our flesh has withered away. Signs of man, be it the centuries worth of radio and television signals that have been broadcasted into the depths of space or our satellites and voyagers sent out into the unknown, will be eternal (very End of Evangelion if anyone remembers that bit).

Our existance is forever, our being is not.

Humans are not meant to live forever thats why earth is a war planet none stop bombing and nukes hit thats why we earth has a expiring date! ^^

In my opinion..it is better to die and reborn...beacuse don't you think we will be too old to live and wish that we can be young again to explore the new world that we will created??

so, if you were reborn..we can live better on that time instead of getting too old and just sit back to watch the new technology that humans have created..

Why do humans want to live forever?? i really don't wan to, cause its like everything its gonna get dull one day! and i think its better that everything has its end, cause we do get annoyed if something was to continue forever!! and do we really want to live forever?

Live forever huh.
To live forever is nice but only then when you have someone you can share your time with.
if i had the chaqnce to live forever then i9 would do that okay that can be boring but only then when you do every day the same stuff.

I don't believe there is an ultimate stage where one is plagued by the stagnation of life, and exclusion from death, there are so many things in the world and beyond, that there is infinitely explorable stages, infinitely explorable options for all immortals to continue and search.

I mean, think about it, does the meaning of endless lifespan mean one can finally stop seeing disease as a threat? one can have all the time in world, finding the ultimate knowledge? One can spend endless journeys into space and beyond? Heck, to land on the surface of mars, and not aging a day longer than you need be.

There are so many things one can think on being immortal, the implications of morality as it was so well versed by normal humans with normal lifespans can be changed, if immortality exists, one can become immortal to serve a higher cause, isn't that is what all religions would have wanted? To serve God eternally and faithfully? Isn't this, this ultimate gift?

Imagine if one can be eternal, one can finally have all the time to answer the mysteries, your children will join you in your knowledge, and your children's children, and then more as they add to your legacy, as they join you in a journey, not just finding out if there is a God, or just to see how far science can go, you have the chance, to be beyond what is yourself.

Of course, nature can wipe out you if it wants you to be, but then again, what if you are immortal for that indefinite time, what would you have done?

In my opinion..it is better to die and reborn...beacuse don't you think we will be too old to live and wish that we can be young again to explore the new world that we will created??

Because that cannot be proven, we assume it doesn't happen, there is no "reborn" option, but we can use science to make you live longer, near eternal, but you will still die anyhow, maybe a defect, maybe you can choose to live short, but it doesn't matter, if you don't have the grace to live long, which I don't think any sane man would, it would be a burden, but if you do, think of the oppurtunities, and what makes you think the new world is there because there is simply new blood taking over? Was it not the veterans who built the world as it is?

if i had the chaqnce to live forever then i9 would do that okay that can be boring but only then when you do every day the same stuff

.

if you had the chance to live forever, I seriously recommend you to take english lessons and learn how to type with punctuations. That said, I don't think you ever stop learning, to me, living longer can mean an endless journey to learn, imagine that, I can have a thousand degrees, hundreds of Masters, I can be The Teacher of all things, the religion know all,. the professor of the professors to professors.

I dont think we're meant to live forever...maybe evolution may help or change the world in the future. hopefully.

I believe we will live forever...
Note: I think I write a lot, sorry about that if it is inconvenient to read, but I can't help I just interested in topic and just wrote what I believe... Also there is possibility that what I wrote is not related to topic sorry for that also... But I hope it will help you to understand me or other people who thinks like me... By the way I won't use forums generally, pm me in any need...

I believe we will live forever...
But you must die first... Actually you can't prove you will be resurrected after life, but you also can't prove that we won't be resurrected either...
I know everyone thinks different and believes different, but you are what you believe. You won't be able to understand everything with science. People think we will decay in some or other way, since we are living things. But we have a soul that won't decay, so we can live forever I guess. If you don't believe in presence of soul I can't help you not I can't prove you... But there are lots of source you may get information from... If you are interested just go and find the truth...
Another thing is we probably people won't be able to prove the existence of the soul, an eternal life or God... Since we need to see the clues and have faith in... If it is proved that there is such things than everyone will believe and there is no distinction between people... And also we are free to believe or not to believe, in that case our freedom will no more...
One more thing is when you believe in eternal life, we are meant to live for some much more, since we are making preperations in this life... And to say the truth I will be able to live my life without believing in, but my life will be meaningless relative to now...
The last thing I should say, when you believe in an eternal life, some people may say that it makes no sense if there is no God... They believe you just waste your life in believing and in try of pray and so... But actually there is nothing we will lose even in that situation, since we live our lives nearly equal or in better manners... Actually I am noticing that the things that religion banned is actually have no benefit or harm us... ( by the way I am Muslim and I am not talking about other religions, maybe some of them is not like what I say )... Therefore believing makes you live a more meaningful life even if you think there is no God...
But if you ask me I am sure there is God and we will live another life which will continue forever...

Again, try not to deviate from topic, there is no soul in discussion here, let us imagine the physical sense, one can live forever, not decay through the way of science of another, possibility divine intervention.

The physical body is here and now, we are living and we are alive, and here we breathe, what if we can breathe forever, and witness the world change as time avoids your being?

Romantic I know, but what do the moral implications suggest? Are we meant to be?

"Even if we could, should we do it?"

Is that what we come so far?

Omnidevil

I don't believe there is an ultimate stage where one is plagued by the stagnation of life, and exclusion from death, there are so many things in the world and beyond, that there is infinitely explorable stages, infinitely explorable options for all immortals to continue and search.

I mean, think about it, does the meaning of endless lifespan mean one can finally stop seeing disease as a threat? one can have all the time in world, finding the ultimate knowledge? One can spend endless journeys into space and beyond? Heck, to land on the surface of mars, and not aging a day longer than you need be.

There are so many things one can think on being immortal, the implications of morality as it was so well versed by normal humans with normal lifespans can be changed, if immortality exists, one can become immortal to serve a higher cause, isn't that is what all religions would have wanted? To serve God eternally and faithfully? Isn't this, this ultimate gift?

Imagine if one can be eternal, one can finally have all the time to answer the mysteries, your children will join you in your knowledge, and your children's children, and then more as they add to your legacy, as they join you in a journey, not just finding out if there is a God, or just to see how far science can go, you have the chance, to be beyond what is yourself.

Of course, nature can wipe out you if it wants you to be, but then again, what if you are immortal for that indefinite time, what would you have done?

I have to disagree with you, Omnidevil.
I believe you think the way you do simply because you don't have eternal life.

If a person were to achieve immortality, then would life still have value?
I personally think that life has value simply because it is so ephemeral.

If one were to live forever, then what. Sure a person can learn a great deal but there is always a limit to the amount of questions a person can ask and the amount of things a person can learn. Eternity does not make a person omniscient. Human knowledge is and will always be limited; very limited. No man can achieve the status of a God no matter how much time they have.
Also, next to eternity, the concept of time does not exist. What I mean by that is, regardless of all the time a person can have to learn all the possible things there is to learn, it will happen all too fast; in a blink of an eye...

At that point, no matter who, a person will get bored of life. Think about it, even in our short lives, boredom exists. In an eternal life, boredom will reach a larger scale and people will eventually get tired of living. Thirst of knowledge is not enough reason for a person to live forever. Nothing in life is good enough to make anyone want to live forever. Not even the fear of death.

I know I am generalizing but this is one aspect of mankind I believe is common in every person, even if they deny it.