Clueless Philosophy (vol. 1)

In case you were worried, I believe there is a hierarchy of what we consider to be analogies in our language;

• Standard Analogy: A series of thoughts and comparisons which convey similarities between two seemingly unrelated ideas
• Parallel: A series of thoughts and comparisons which convey a distinct, direct relationship between two ideas
• Parable: A series of thoughts and comparisons which convey a greater truth from within the elements of the comparison

With these in mind, I will share a standard analogy.

A seed knows nothing more than being a seed. If it were to become sentient, then it would begin to detect its environment in order to gain further self-awareness. It might discover remarkable things, at least by its little standards, but it would still remain nothing more than a seed.

Once a seed has been buried and has shed its hard, outer layer, it begins to take root. Eventually, it will rise above the surface. Over the course of a few weeks, it will begin to sprout, and after a few months it might even begin to bear seeds of its own (depending on the type of plant.) After a few years, what was once a mere seed will have become an incredible new creature, something that a seed could never have understood in its un-planted state.

Of course, a seed will never be sentient and, therefore, will never have this existential blockage. However, we, as humans, could be compared to a seed. It's admittedly a bit of a stretch, but think about it: once we are dead, all that we, as humans, can perceive is the remains of another human. No, we don't grow into tree-like plants, but it could very well be that our finite understanding is incapable of sensing anything greater than this mortal shell. We could be little more than the sentient seed.

Even regarding that a seed will never know its potential or its true worth, maybe human beings are unaware of this same theme within themselves. Can a human truly understand anything that isn't contained inside the bubble of life? Is death really the end of everything, or is it actually a change in one's state, akin to ice, liquid water and steam? We see the dead, we smell the dead, we even eat the dead of other things once living. Doesn't that indicate we have some notion as to how the dead benefit the living?

What is there to fear of death but the loss of our consciousness? If it never left, but instead were freed from the severe limits of mortality, isn't that something worth looking forward to?

But I know this is spit-balling. There's empirical evidence to support these ideas. Which is why I'm afraid they might turn out to be true.