1. My son , do not forget my law, but let your
heart keep my commands;
2. For length jf days and long life and peace
they will add to you...
5. Trust in the lord with all your heart,and lean
not on your own understanding;
6. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and
He shall direct your paths.
7. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the
Lord and abstain from evil.
Proverbs. Chapter 3.
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There seem to exist some other considerations to be taken into account.
1. The age at which biological material
sampling is done for man cloning means a lot wnen the goal is to achieve
individual immortality. A hypothesis based on Lamark’s theory about inheriting
acquired symptoms holds that two cloned species formed with biological
material taken from the same donnor but at different age will have certain
phenotypical difference resulting from some additional information
presented in the genetic material and accumulated during the donnor’s life.
(Lamark’s theory is nowadays considered attractive by a number of serious
researchers, who do not oppose it to the theory of Darvin, but find the
two theories contributing one to another.) If the hypothesis is true, then
besides its general meaning for the idea of individual immortality, it
specifically means that the older is the donnor of biological material
the better.
Provided that the future grants the opportunity to
integrate both genetic and informational components in a structural entity,
there arises a problem of qualitative and quantitative assessment of the
combination of the donnors’ individual psychological properties , whicn
are determined not only by natural characteristics, but also by their social
life conditions.
Today we have sufficiently
elaborated methods of psychological diagnostics that allow us to select
and estimate the major integral, or so called system forming , personality
qualities such as motivation, self-consciousness, and a number of other
individual features that determine a person’s behavior,condition and feeling
within the system of interpersonal relations.
Thus even today we can obtain
and preserve in time both the ego’s biological component and certain
information about its psycho-physiology parametres. There is no doubt that
time will come when mankind will be able to unify these cjmponents in a
structural entity, which will probably solve the problem of individual
immortality.
A question remains however
whether the information we are able to obtain and preserve so far, is sufficient
for fulfilling the task. In case the answer is positive, the audacious
dream of man can turn feasible during the life of the present generation.
It is an open question for the time being. But is there any harm in trying?
P.S. We still cannot deny the liklihood ofthe existence
of some other and irrarional component that makes our ego absolutely
irreproductive whatsoever by means of scientific approach. Then we can
only rely on the Will of Lord .
A question arises however
whether the above-said is consistent to the most common and widely spread
religious perceptions of appropriate thinking and action of man, and with
his approach to life and relationship with The Most High. In other words
is the setting up the problem of individual immortality not sheer
heresy, and therefore absolutely unacceptable for a righteous man?
Let us try considering the
problem from the point of view of those who stand by monotheism. Here is
a brief account of how they perceive the surrounding world, the duty of
man to The Most High, and what is our soul.
Our inner assumption being
that relation of man with God is highly personal, connection of each unique
individual to his or her Creator is profoundly intimate. God is beyond
our conceiving.
The world we live in is called
the world of action. Its lower part is the physical world of action
where the law of nature dominates. Above it exists the world of spiritual
action.
In the world of action the
spiritual is subordinated to the material as the law of nature determines
the image and structure of all things, and directs all development. In
this world Spirit can only reveal Itself on the solid ground of what we
call the forces of nature. The mission of man and his duty to The Most
High is continue creation of this world. I will take up the cup of salvation...
(Psalms, 116:13.)
Each man is designated to
fulfill his unique task, and his share of duty to God. Man reaches the
goal of his own by the path of his own on the call of his own heart. The
soul of man is to continuously develop during its Earth existence.
Soul ought to be understood
as a continuous line of spiritual existence originating from the Source
of all souls connected by this line with the soul of a certain man rather
than as a definite thing enveloped in a body, or some immaterial substance.
Each soul is unique in terms of its abilities and the tasks it is appointed
to fulfill. The main goal of the soul is to be attained not outside the
physical world, but inside it among the living beings and in contact with
the matter. At its first level the soul conveys vital energy to the body,
gives it ability of thinking and contemplating. At a higher level the soul
determines man’s consciousness and abilities to create. The point where
the soul contacts Divinity is located at the highest level.
The human soul utilizes the
body as a tool for its functioning in this world. Being clad in flesh,
it thinks, percepts, feels and reacts. Existing in reality it fulfills
a dual task of perfecting the outer world and raising itself to a higher
level. Upon leaving the material world a soul that has attained its goal
awaits the time when the world will achieve the ultimate perfection.
If a soul does not fulfill its spiritual mission, after the man’s death
it remains restless, and eventually returns to another body to make one
more attempt and to right the wrong it did to itself and the world during
its previous life on Earth.
The struggle of each soul
for achieving its individual goal is at the same time the struggle of the
whole world for salvation. Coming back to the matter in order to improve
both the matter and itself, the soul eventually reaches the summit
of perfection accessible to it.
A thorough analysis of this
very superficial and primitive account of religious views, and its comparison
with the purposes of Project 50 allow us to conclude that they are not
utterly inconsistent. Moreover they even contribute to each other. Implementation
of Project 50 may result in producing certain biological and informative
matrix that would be the basis for recreating the human soul for it to
reenter the material world and fulfill its spiritual mission.