Quo Vadis, Dottore? Religious, Philosophical and Medical Perspectives on the Quest for Immortality

Datos Bibliográficos

ID20474202
AutoresErnst R Schwarz (0000-0001-6999-3993, University of California, Riverside, autor de correspondencia), Miguel Franco (0000-0002-7249-4981), Nathalie Busse, Sofiia Bidzhoian, Aubriana Angel Schwarz, Laurent Cleenewerck de Kiev
Año2022
Volumen61
Número4
Páginas3177-3191
Fecha de publicación2022-06-11
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Religion and Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-4197 • E-ISSN: 1573-6571
EditorialSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s10943-022-01591-9
PMID35690695
OpenAlexW4282933975
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas21

In the daily practice of medicine, health care providers oftentimes confront the dilemma of offering 'maximum care' based on available technologies and advances versus ethical concerns about futility. Regardless of cultural backgrounds and differences, most human beings aspire to an illness-free life, or better yet, a life lived with utmost quality and longevity. On account on ongoing advances in science and technology, the possibility of achieving "immortality" (a term used as a metaphor for an extremely long and disease-free life) is increasingly perceived as a realistic goal, which is aggressively pursued by some of the world's wealthiest individuals and corporations. However, this quest is not taking place in a philosophical or religious vacuum, which is why we attempt to evaluate the current state of knowledge on religious beliefs revolving around immortality and their alignments with today's medical advancements. The literature searches were performed using relevant databases including JSTOR and PubMed, as well as primary religious sources. Most religions present longevity as a blessing and believe in some sort of immortality, afterlife or reincarnation for the immortal soul. The quest for immortality beyond life in a "body of death" remains consistent with access to medical care and the legitimate possibility of achieving longevity-as long as certain ethical and religious parameters are preserved

Afterlife · Blessing · Dilemma · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Immortality · Longevity · Reincarnation · Sociology · Soul · Theology · Medicine · Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Gerontology

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