ABSTRACT
Certain ideas and practices in modern science suggest that there exists among scientists the hope for immortality of a person’s mind and humankind. The presence of such hope follows from the fact that considerable efforts and resources are spent on exploring the issues that are beyond the lifespan of a person and humankind. Humankind exists on the timescale of thousands of years, whereas the universe exists on a timescale a million times longer. The difference between these timescales makes any prognoses regarding the fate of the earth and the universe beyond a few thousand years impractical. Why, then, do scientists and institutions devote time and resources to such issues as the future of the earth and the universe billions of years from now? Why do modern states spend billions of dollars on the exploration of objects located hundreds of millions of light years away from our galaxy or on the search for new quantum particles of matter? Why are predictions made regarding the fate of humankind on the cosmic scale of billions of years? The answers to these questions can be found in recent psychological studies on magical beliefs in modern humans. These studies have shown that the belief in the supernatural is common not only among small children today, but also among educated rational adults who consciously view themselves as non-believers in magic and in God. This implicit belief feeds our hope for the immortality of a person’s mind and humankind.
