“The biological mode of immortality is epitomized by family continuity, living on through - psychologically speaking, in-one’s sons and daughters and their sons and daughters, with imagery of an endless chain of biological attachment. This has been the most fundamental and universal of all modes.”
- Robert Jay Lifton, The Broken Connection
The Biological Project is the fundamental immortality project. As we saw in 05 - The Immortal Replicator, it is the biological process of survival and replication that got us here. In that sense, you could say that the Biological Project is the “true” project seeing as all the other projects are really just a non-physical extension of it. While that is certainly true, I would once again caution any value judgements when it comes to life and Immortality Projects. Remember that you can never actually complete your projects.
Put simply, the Biological Project is the pursuit of extending one’s biological life through longevity and/or children. These are two somewhat distinct activities, it is possible to have one without the other. There are many parents who don’t take their health very seriously, and there are some who take their health very seriously but have no desire for children (they have other Immortality Projects on the go).
Health and fitness activities can cross into both domains; they are an attempt to increase longevity and make oneself more attractive to a potential mate.
In the case of the Biological Project, in a few short generations you will be gone and forgotten - reduced to photos and a line on a family tree. Maybe you managed to instill some virtuous values into your offspring that have managed to maintain some influence, but this too will dilute as the generations grow.