Terror management theory, as Atlantic writer Olga Khazan explains in this video, posits that whenever you remind someone of dying, they try to manage their fear by regaining a sense of control. What would the benefits be to living forever, and consequently, not fearing death? Would it make us happier, or more generous? In Silicon Valley, some of the country’s wealthiest and brightest minds are pooling their resources behind technologies that promise to extend life. “Our purpose now, in the 21st century, is to become god-like and overcome death,” says Zoltan Istvan, a transhumanist and former presidential candidate. This episode of “That Feeling When” explores the growing number of people who have already begun preparing for a life without death.
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