Philosophy Rant | The Life Illusion

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Yongnam Goon from Korea
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- Transcript -

There's no doubt that we're virtually living in a Godless age. But theism isn't the biggest irrational doctrine in human culture. It's actually vitalism, in other words, the concept of 'life', that should be called our real problem in this generation. You know, in our current society, if you're not religious, you don't have to believe in God. But somehow everybody's forced to have belief in the existence of life, no matter what type of cultural background they have. It's that type of violence we're not noticing. First we need to realize that this Ancient Greek-style life notion originating from Plato & Aristotle has been already scientifically proven outdated a long time ago. The key is, just because we're 'organisms', doesn't mean we have some sort of flame of life inside, or as French Philosopher Henri Bergson famously coined, "élan vital", the vital force.

René Descartes already claimed that animal bodies are machines 400 years ago, and Charles Darwin's evolution theory came in and established that organisms are governed by the natural law of selection. What about now? Richard Dawkins has made very clear the role of genes in nature, and he's using this gene-centric evolution to support his Militant Atheism movement. Because once you accept the reality that organisms are basically just vehicles developed to work as gene machines, not only you don't need God, but you 'have to' abolish the whole sense of God in order to proceed. And the more essential reality here is that inevitably life doesn't exist anymore either. The only reason why humanity is still holding onto vitalism even in this unprecedentedly developed 21st century is because it's been difficult for us to have an alternative view to replace this life 'illusion'.

So what should we choose? It's not an easy question, and the answer can't be decided in a sharp moment. But to break the fundamental illusion and clearly understand that we're machines, I think the best option is 'work', as the exact opposite meaning of life. We're not living, it's our bodies 'working'. Just like you can see the reality of evolution clearly only when you drop the customary framework of God, you can personally find your true individuality and the way to its growth only when you reject this obsolete view of life. Just like organisms are no more intrinsically honorable than inorganic compounds, our existence cannot be proven precious based on a mythological belief anymore. In conclusion, what makes an individual special is not the general force of its species, but the individual self's very own unique outcome of growth. In that sense, we're truly complete as our own gene machines, and this view will change a lot about your immediate journey. Good night.