Issue 011

Issue 011

28 February 2022

 

There is an old saying:

It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.

 

Balance versus Conflict

Eastern philosophy tends to view the world in terms of BALANCE. Opposites balance each other.

Western philosophy tends to view the world in terms of CONFLICT. Opposites fight each other.

Ultimately, this apparent difference is simply a question of PERSPECTIVE.

The life and death struggle between predator and prey is both conflict in terms of the participants and balance in terms of nature.

For the sake of both ethics and objectivity it is generally better to resist the temptation to assign rank or moral value.

The predator is neither “evil” simply because it kills nor “superior” because it is viewed as “higher on the food chain.”

The prey is neither “good” simply because it is does not kill nor “inferior” because it is viewed as “lower on the food chain.”

After all, the so-called “lowest” life forms are the PREREQUISITE for ALL life!

One of the reasons civilizations fall is man’s alienation from nature. Despite the fact he is still subject to the laws of nature.  The result:

Human belief systems that deviate from nature and hence lead to ruination!

 

Infinity & Immortality

Infinity can be large or small. Long or short.

Example:

Start at one end of a line. Any line. Any length. For now, let’s say one inch.

First, move HALF way toward the other end. Second, move again, this time only ONE HALF of the distance of the FIRST move. Third, move again, this time only ONE HALF of the distance of the SECOND move. Repeat as many times a desired. Always moving forward. But never reaching the end of the line.

It makes no difference how long or how short the line is. An inch or a millimeter or a mile or the distance from one end of the known universe to the other.

Therefore, infinity can also be finite! Perhaps only one inch or one millimeter or less. More precisely, infinity can fit within a finite space.

This principle is not limited to a line or SPACE. It can also apply to TIME. Especially human PERCEPTION of time.

It’s common knowledge that time passes quickly when we’re having fun. And slowly when the opposite is the case.  (Also, older people often remark that the years seem to pass more quickly than when they were young.)

Furthermore, there is the often reported near death experience of “my whole life passed before my eyes in an instant.”

Does time perception slow down to the point of infinite time within finite time? Akin to infinite space within finite space?

Immortality of the soul?

Life after death? 

At any rate, it is comforting to know that human stupidity is not the ONLY thing that is infinite.

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