According to Lifton's account of symbolic immortality, 'natural immortality' refers to __________.

• A. the continuation of one's life in the physical world around us
• B. eternal life through the soul
• C. via memory only
• D. divine blessing upon descendants

Answer: (A)

Natural immortality, in Lifton’s framework, is the sense that a person’s life continues through the physical world around us—through offspring, the lasting presence of family lines, and the enduring impact one leaves on communities, culture, or the environment. It relies on tangible, worldly continuity rather than a non-physical or purely mental form of survival. This aligns with Lifton’s idea that people seek immortality not only in memories or spiritual realms, but also in the ongoing, observable continuity of life in the world they helped shape. The other ideas—eternal life through the soul, immortality via memory alone, or divine blessing upon descendants—represent different pathways to immortality (spiritual or purely memory-based) that aren’t what Lifton labels as natural immortality.