In 2016, Robert McIntyre, a graduate of MIT, became the
first person to freeze and then revive
a mammalian brain—that of a white rabbit. “When thawed, the rabbit’s brain was
found to have all of its synapse, cell membranes, and intracellular structures
intact.”[1]
The film, Realive, made that same
year, is a fictional story about a man with terminal cancer who commits suicide
to be frozen and revived when his illness could be cured. In the context of
McIntyre’s scientific work, the film’s sci-fi demeanor belies the very real
possibility that cryogenics could realistically alter fundamental assumptions
about life and death even just later in the same century. What the film says
about the life and death is timeless, however, in terms of philosophical value.
The full essay is at "Realive."
1. Candace Sutton, “Human
Bodies Frozen in Desert Facility Waiting for Science to Wake them Up,”
News.com.au.
