The main argument in favour of cryonics is that it holds the prospect of more life—and perhaps a lot more. Despite the preponderance of arguments against cryonics, the fact remains that the potential benefits are virtually infinite. The revived cryonaut would not only live longer, but might live forever. Apart from anything else, he would experience more life than he would have done if he had died in the traditional sense. It is all very well for those who believe in a supernatural life after death to criticize cryonics; but for atheists who don't believe in an afterlife cryonics represents the only chance of life after 'death'. And those who say that the odds of reanimation working are infinitesimally small should bear in mind that there is a lot more evidence that it will work than there is of a heaven or a hell.
(David Shaw, "Cryoethics: Seeking Life After Death," Bioethics 23 [November 2009]: 515-21, at 519-20)
Note from KBJ: Would you want to live forever? Why or why not? I plan to use this essay in my next Biomedical Ethics course. The students will love it. I might even use it in my Philosophy of Religion course this fall. Hell, I might even use it in my Philosophy of Religion course in 2517!
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 