Why do we have to die?
& why death makes no sense… anymore
Did you actually ever wonder why you have to die? I mean instead of simply accepting the fact that: someday your body will grow old, infirm, sick and simply stop working? If you haven’t, then maybe you should, because it’s about time.
In order to understand why death may not always be a consequence of life, why death may one day be a thing of the past, you will need to understand what purpose death serves: It’s all about evolution.
Death is a necessary part of the evolutionary process. New species come, old ones go. Without death there is no change. Without death, there would probably be no evolution at all, because there would be no need to evolve. Some need to die in order for others to exist.
Birth, death and the inherent replacement process are a valid way to improve a system. This type of improvement process based on heredity is actually used by some people in order to create intelligent systems. But, there is a problem: The life time of a generation. Meaning the time it takes for a generation to grow & evolve.
I want you to think about our own evolution for a while. We see ourselves as the result of billions of years of development. Which is true. Thinking that the evolution stopped after producing the human race is rather — let’s call it… naive. It’s naive because we have, so far, only encountered two possible results of any evolutionary process: Death or progress. There is no standing still.
We are constantly improving ourselves individually as well. We experience, we learn, we become better. This process used to be sufficient in our past. Our world used to change rather slowly. It was “ok” to wait a few generations to produce progress.
So let’s sum it up: Evolution is a way to improve a species or create a new, even better, type of species. Every living thing is a result of an evolutionary process. Evolution does not stop. We need to die in order to make space for a new, better, generation of beings.
So why is this wasteful process no longer sufficient?
Exponential growth patterns
In order to understand this topic, you will need to understand the mechanics behind exponential growth. Our human brains are not made to understand such a type of progress. We think linear.
What we usually have problems comprehending is the accompanying increasing speed. Things that used to take a thousand years might take a few seconds some day — or even less. So we are like headless chicken when it comes to exponentially — it’s like trying to wrap your head around infinity. We might understand the basic concept, but our way of thinking is essentially limited.
An example? We will make more progress in the next 25 years than we did in the last 250. And there has been quite a lot of progress in the last 250 years. The next step, following the 25 year period, will take a lot less than 25 years — rather 5–10. The one after that, even less.
Let’s get back to the topic of death:
So death is part of the process of improving a species. Out with the old, in with the new. For us, it is the epitome of wastefulness, especially considering that nobody likes to be wasted. Get wasted, sure.
For us, in our time, dying and being replaced seems more and more like a very old-fashioned and time-consuming way to improve ourselves. We simply don’t have the time to wait for next generations to improve. We need a faster solution.
Wait — what did I just say? I actualy touched the holy grail of human existence — our godly nature. Our spiritual beeing kind of stuff.
I’m 100% certain that the mankind has reached a technological level where we no longer have to fear the effects of death. Or let’s rather say: We are going to get there soon.
Biological needs
So the death is a consequence of human nature by default — isn’t it? Well, this is not necessarily true, because of what human nature actually is. In order to understand that you have to understand what you are — which is virtually impossible in todays societies.
We are just so busy doing each and everything instead of understanding what & why we really are. We grow up in communities that do not understand it either, we follow certain patterns of knowledge we as a species have collectively learned — too focused on being human instead of being focused on simply… being.
So ok…lets try to understand what I’m talking about:
- We are biological beeings
- As such we underly certain biological needs such as food, sleep & basic psychological stimula. Those needs are essential, we cannot do without. We are literally depending on those needs being met. We are not free to not need.
- Thus follows that we are also slaves of the need to die.
- Because this is a biological thing — right?
Do you get the error in the equation? Try, for a moment, to conceptualize the reason for you having to die. You have to die because of a biological need like food or sleep. But would you say that eating or drinking defines a being human? Well — you might actually say that… Sorry for that — kinda…
Try to visualize the big picture: We are essentially information. The very foundation of our universe is based on energy. It underlies everything. And its actually not real — the universe I mean. So what exactly are we trying to protect? Wait, wait, … what? Sorry had to sneak this one in: Have a read. I’ll skip the explanation for now.
Changing your mindset
The reason why no one ever brought it up this mater is the same reason we are. It has not happened yet. See death is merely a theory. Something we have come to terms with. We see it as a part of our nature because that’s what it’s always been. There is nothing we can change about it, right?
Wrong — we can. We can conquer death. Using most of the technology we have to today, and are going to have in a few years from now, we could really find an alternative to death — and there are multiple ways to go. The first step to finding a solution to any problem, however, is realizing that you have a problem that needs to be solved in the first place.
We tend not to think of death as a problem, but as a force of nature, as a universal law. Even the universe will die one day, yes?
Ok, you may very well go ranting about how unnatural not-dying is and how we are not supposed to escape death, because,… god forbid. No — really. He forbade. If there is a god like the Abrahamic Religions imagine, then not dying would surely be forbidden — a sin. If he’s Hindu — it might be even worse…
Try to use the rational part of your brain for this one: Is not dying really that unnatural? We know of a very select few animals or plants who we consider to be technically immortal.
I suggest that we do what humans can do best: build tools, use them and improve nature. We have always used tools to help our needs and to improve nature. If such a thing is considered unnatural, and if unnatural shall be forbidden: Then say goodbye to computers, to houses, to toilets and penicillin. Stay away from colder climates, or the ocean. There will certainly be no TV for you tonight!
But we do use tools, we will not give them up, and our tools are becoming more and more complex. Tools exist to help us improve and prolong our existence. Because, what it boils down to, the thing we care most about is our continued survival — as individuals, and as a species.
I will not blame anyone for trying to survive. It’s the most basic of our biological needs.
So what are possible ways to solve the death issue:
- Digitalize our brains and create virtual copies of our selfs. (I prefere this solution)
- Reverse/stop aging (Did you know that cancer cells are technically immortal? Did you know that there are beeings that do not age — like lobsters. There are types of jellyfish that can get younger if they want to.)
- Replace parts of our body with organs we grow in a lab (there is a lot of progress in this area)
- many more…
Ok, hold on — I know this might sound a little far fetched, but it really isn’t. Flying to the moon was considered to be a fool’s errand for ages, until the USA & Russia decided to make it a competition and spent most of their money on their respective space programs. It was a bold and futuristic move that actually worked and got things done instead of just talking about them. We have the tools, we have the brains. Now we need the will. All we need to do is get the right people together, give them the right tools and let them work this one out.
Why do I care about the whole brain digitalization thing so much — you might ask? I care, because of the obvious short comings of our biological brain. I hate its limits because the system it’s based on has its limits. Evolution is very slow — you know…
“But I’m a rational being and my brainpower is perfect as it is” — you might answer. No, it’s not. The world we are living in today is already way too complex for our human brain and it’s getting more and more complicated — exponentially more complicated, as it were. All we do is assume & apply patterns recognition to things we cannot grasp otherwise. The result of that are the many wrong decisions we make. Errors, pain & misery. Death — even…
Even your first statement would be wrong: We aren’t rational beings. We can not be because of the way our brain is constructed. We inherited most of our animal ancestor behavior and we carry it in our brain, which makes it a part of our very own personality.
I hope you see the ambivalence in human reasoning: On one hand we are trying to be rational beings, and on the other we struggle to keep our wild animal side in check — because this is what makes us human — right?
I suggest that you think about what actually defines being human, and if all of those things are really necessary for our survival: Is being human about having a human body or is it rather about personality? If you think it’s the first one — there is a solution to that as well.
Then try to think about death, really think about it, instead of burying your head in the sand just because it makes you feel squeamish. Just go ahead and ask yourself the most important of all questions: Why
Why do I actually have to die?
I think it’s a shame, really. Its a shame to have all these possibilities & tools lying around at our disposal and no one is using them because of some millennia old superstition we got from ancient books bronze age societies happened to stitch together. If you were to ask me, why we have to die, my answer would be this: Because we want to!
Instead of finding a solution to this problem, we bury our heads in the sand and accept it as a law of nature. Because our personality is constructed by our surroundings & our surroundings were constructed by same laws of nature — a vicious circle. Just because something always used to be like that, we do not have to accept it staying like that for forever. That’s what we humans like to do: We change things! We change things that we once used to consider unchangeable all the time. And it’s damn well that we do.
Let me remind you that you getting eaten by a wild animal or starvation used to be a sad fact of life as well, back in the days when we used to live in caves. Freezing to death was a fact until we discovered fire. Not being able to travel the world in a reasonable amount of time and comfort used to be a fact until we invented ships/trains/planes/tubes and whatnot… Being stuck on this planet is still a fact — such as death. But if I know one thing about exponential technological development, it is this: A “fact” like these is merely a problem that we haven’t found a solution for — yet… And the solution is going to come much sooner than you think — so…
be prepared.