NewPhilosopherthat some neoprene-clad cyborg of
the23rdcenturywillonedayreadone
ofmybooksandwonderwhatmylife
waslike,because,quitesimplyput,I
won’tbethere.
Thisexactsentimentwasa source
of unappeasable disconsolation to an
oldcollegefriendofminewhodiedof
cancera coupleofdecadesbackatthe
tenderageof 33:shecouldnotbearthe
ideaofnotbeingaroundwhenevery-
oneelsesheknewwouldbe.Posterity
offered scantcompensation.Even so,
shemadea timecapsuleofherselffor
her young children toremember her
by,packagingupletters,selectphoto-
graphs and video snippets that they
could cherish in later years. Perhaps
thisis the kindofafterlife thatmat-
tersmost– livingonafterdeathinthe
heartsofthepeopleyoulove.
Butif suchanafterlifemattersto
individuals,surelythere’sa versionof
it thatringstrueacrosssocieties?The
problem,orperhapsit’snota problem,
justa featureofposterity,is thatit is
reputation-blind,forsomuchofwhat
lingersdoessobychance.I doubtthe
Paleolithic hunters responsible for
the cave paintings of Lascaux, and
other cave networks across Europe,
ever dreamedofposteritywhenthey
daubedanimalimagesoverthewalls
oftheirdwellingsintheritualhopeof
a goodhunt.Theyhaddangerandim-
minent deathinviewtobesure,but
Perhaps this is
the kind of af-
terlife that mat-
ters most – liv-
ing on in the
hearts of the
people you love.
the dread of our own demise need not
prompt a compensatory grasp for im-
mortality. It may just strengthen our
kinship bonds in the here and now,
our investment, if you will, in hori-
zontal security.
On the other hand, it’s clear that
the pyramid builders of ancient Egypt
were deeply invested in eternity. They
were honouring kings, after all – man-
Gods who insisted on having their
earthly possessions and wealth sustain
them in the afterlife to come – and the
vast mausoleums they erected in the
desert had to endure through millen-
nia, just like their embalmed occupants.
While built-in longevity may be
no guarantee of survival, I’m struck by
the way that commemorative acts of
monument building speak principally
to the lived moment, whereas ‘legacy
builds’ attempt to engender a conversa-
tion with our tomorrows. This is why
Dubai’s feast of skyscrapers qualifies as
a power play while Mount Rushmore’s
presidential effigies are about carving a
signature into time itself. It is also why
former President Mitterand’s grand
project – his 15 billion franc investment
in revivifying Paris’s civic architecture
in the 1990s – now looks like ideo-
logical artefact, whereas Danny Hillis
and Stuart Brand’s ‘Clock of the Long
Now’ – a futurist project that involves
constructing a stupendous time piece,
all precision-tooled steel cogs andEternity projects