The desire to live forever is selfish
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After 1 vote and with 1 point ahead, the winner is...
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Considering out current circumstances, wanting to live forever is selfish.
All definitions follow that of the Merrian Webster.
ARGUMENTS
I am going to reduce this debate to three main points, as I feel these three points do adequately encapsulate the meat of this debate.
Resource Consumption
It seems both debaters accept that these immortal people will not need to eat or drink. In Pro's final round, he tries to backtrack, arguing that immortal people will still need to eat because "[their] subconscious will always want to keep [them] alive." If he brought up this rather vague retort in his R2, I'd be more sympathetic. But the fact it was brought up last minute and he failed to elaborate beyond this leaves me unmoved. In contrast, Pro does successfully argue that immortal people will be permanent blights on other resources. Immortal people will still leave a carbon footprint, occupy real estate, buy clothing, and of course, fart. Nonetheless, I have to contrast this with the fact that immortal people will presumably not need food or water to sustain themselves. I am torn on this point, though I do slightly favour Pro's case simply due to the fact that immortal people will need to consume indefinitely. That being said, whatever ground edge either side gained here is lost later in the debate (see "What Does it Mean to be Selfish?").
Natural Right
I did not understand Con's point here. Pro points out that pursuing a natural desire is not mutually exclusive with being selfish (uses tax avoidance as an example), and never gets an adequate response.
What Does it Mean to be Selfish?
This is the point I had to think the most about. Pro supports a very broad definition of selfishness, which as Con points out, could be applied to practically anything. Pro tries to spin this as proof that Con agrees with his side of the resolution, but Con affirms that the broadness of the term kills any objective basis for using the word. Of course, Pro notes that dictionaries exist to provide an objective rubric for situations like this, but when you blow out that rubric to encompass any and every action that a person could ever do, the supposed objectivity of the definition loses its power.
In the end, both entertain an incredibly broad definition of selfishness. Pro uses this to support the idea that everything is selfish, while Con uses this to point out that the term can never be used objectively if the definition is so open to interpretation. In the end, I am left kind of agree with both of them. Sure, everything is selfish, but in the words of Buddy Pine, "when everyone is [selfish], no one will be."
CONDUCT
Con wins due to an unfortunate forfeiture from Pro.
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>Reported Vote: Trent0405 // Mod action: Not Removed
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>Points Awarded: conduct to con
>Reason for Decision: See Votes Tab.
>Reason for Mod Action:
The vote was found to be sufficient per the site voting policy standards.
Arguments must always be reviewed even if left a tie (in which case less detail is required, but some reason for said tie based on the debate content must still be comprehensible within the vote).
While the voter did not cover every issue, they indeed covered the meat and potatoes. Leaving the meat and potatoes a tie based on their analysis is fine.
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Sorry about the forfeiture. I totally procrastinated writing an argument for too long.
Good topic.
Considering out
Should be
Considering our
Also you should read Eric by Sir Terry Pratchett
You are correct; the desire to live forever IS selfish.
Buying a house for it and refusing to let homeless people stay with you rent free is ALSO selfish.
Refusing to adopt starving children because you would rather spread your own genes is selfish.
In many contexts, there is nothing wrong with being selfish.
The desire to live forever is actually based in religion. Which the same faith teaches to be selfless.