The Governing Force Of Life And Its Connection To Soul
Preface
In this essay I will be discussing what the principal or in other words governing force of life is and whether that is linked to a soul. It is prudent to mention at this point that my perspective was written prior to my researching in order to preserve the originality of my ideas. The best way to describe my perspective or for a better phrase approach would be that of a metaphysical explanation of why people, animals and plants act with particular incentives and purpose almost. I attempt to explain from my own philosophizing what I think in a coherent and articulate way. The various thinkers I looked at after formulating my own ideas were Plato, Gautama Buddha and Lao Tzu. My opinion on the matter is that Lifeforce is the principal of life and the soul is a form of Lifeforce.
Introduction
I will now explain key concepts that are vital to my essay and the principal of life and whether or not it is the soul. The first key idea is that there is an ethereal and intangible energy that courses through every living thing, this energy is existed since the beginning of time and shall continue indefinitely. The name for this is “Lifeforce”. This is the quintessential idea which I derive the rest of my philosophy from. It is the foundation which allows for, in my view a profound and sophisticated discussion of the soul. It is so important as it is the essence life, it is really life itself. There is also a law which apply to lifeforce, a by extension they apply to every living thing this is Growth.
When saying Growth, I do not simply mean the act of something growing physically, it for me is more encompassing than that however at times it can be growing physically. For me though when using the word Growth (for ease of differentiation the law shall be spelt with a capital G) I refer to a process which when completed is more than it previously was prior to completion the process for example this could be as simple as eating a banana, before you eat it you are less than you were after you have eaten it and that whole process is Growth, you in this example are becoming physically more than you previously were. But then the process can be as abstract as existence from nothing. Existence is more than nothing before the process of actualization or creation nothing is, well nothing. Whereas after the process of Growth (creation in this example would be the medium for Growth) it is more than nothing. It is something. So, when speaking of the law of Growth which enacts upon lifeforce and come manifest itself in many different mediums, this is what I mean. A medium of Growth is something which allows Growth to occur, the more access to different mediums the more the lifeforce can grow (in all capacity of the word).
The next key concept is that of a vessel, which is in my opinion the corporal body which stores lifeforce, in other words everything living thing has a vessel as it would not be able to hold the lifeforce and as such not be alive without it. The name for a vessel that has lifeforce in it is a creatura. There are three types of creatura which exist in a hierarchy theses being human, animal and plant creatura. Their respective places on the list is based on the creaturas access to mediums of Growth which is the limiting factor for the creaturas potential to Grow. For example, a plant getting bigger in size is more in matter (it being bigger) which a means of showing Growth. Humans are at the top because they have the most access to the mediums of Growth and as a result have the greatest potential for overall the growth of lifeforce.
So, it is to say briefly that the governing law directly affect the Lifeforce when in a vessel (creatura) and the effects are lasting on the life force but that shall be explained in more detail later on. In relation to the soul then the majority of the discussion of it shall come after the explanation of the Growth and lifeforce and the different types of creatura. As it is wholly necessary for those ideas to be discussed first if my explanation of the soul is to make sense, after discussing my view we can then see what other thinkers have said in terms of their opinion on essays title this being of course what is the principal of life and is it the soul? With that said let us begin with the explanation of Lifeforce.
Lifeforce – the very essence of life itself. So as previously mentioned Lifeforce is essentially the animator of the vessel without it humans, plants and animals would not be able to flourish and function. It is an energy that is naturally occurring on Earth. For the Lifeforce to become tangible it requires, as previously mentioned a vessel to inhabit and occupy. This is done at the moment of birth for humans and animals, as for planets it is the beginning of the process of germination. Despite all deriving from the same initial Lifeforce once it becomes one of the three classifications of creatura (Human, animal or plant) the Lifeforce itself becomes the vessel. The Lifeforce is bound by the potential the mediums of Growth that the creatura that it inhabits has. All the creatura have different means in which they can influence and affect the Lifeforce. Human creatura come at the top of the hierarchy of the three, followed by animal creatura and finally plant creatura based on their ability to Grow. The more a creatura can think the more potential it has to Grow by allowing the process of Growth to be more than it was, it allows for Growth to *become purpose this shall become clearer when explaining human creatura. Growth is in simple terms a response to be more than it was previously, now due to the creatura being a combination of an earthly (tangible) vessel and its essence is that of the Lifeforce (Ethereal) it is partial to both the laws of its vessel but more ingenuously the laws that govern the Lifeforce as well, this is to say then that whatever law (Growth) to the Lifeforce so to do they apply to the creatura as well. Let us now discuss what that means for all three of the creatura in general.
Creatura of Plant and the principal (Law) of Growth
To further explain the meaning of “Being more than it once was” we must explain why it is that things grow in the first place. Haven’t you ever wondered why do plants grow? We are typically given the biological response of “WELL the plant has gibberellins and they respond to the light…...” I always wondered further though, what was the driving force behind plants making these chemicals in the first place? For me then it is the Lifeforce wanting to be more than it previously was. This idea is to be based on the assumption that it was an intangible force (lifeforce) prior to being in the vessel of a plant. This would for me imply that the Lifeforce grows by being more tangible or in even simpler terms, having more of substance. In this case more of a plant (the Lifeforce wanting to inhabit more of the plant so it influences the plant to produce more of itself so the Lifeforce may also grow as the plant does too). It would quite literally be more than it previously was if it was physically bigger than it was. It would be more than it was if it went from intangible, to tangible. Something is more than nothing.
That is what makes me think that it could indeed be a metaphysical phenome or an explanation for the occurrence for plants growing beyond the usual (and boring) response that it is merely biology, what I am inferring is that it is something much more than that. The beauty of the law of growth much like the law of gravity is that it does not need to be understood be what it is acting upon in order for it to act. This could be a simple for defence of people arguing that say a plant doesn’t have a desire to live, it’s vessel doesn’t necessarily have a desire for anything but what does is the Lifeforce that ebbs and flows within the creatura that wants to grow, this would explain the question of why a plant would even want to grow. The creatura of a plant must then want to grow beyond what it previously was, this manifest itself in the plant creatura as the desire for nutrition the desire to live, and the desire to be more. Which for a plant creatura is the only medium for Growth to occur. This is why the plant is the lowest on the hierarchy. It can only (physically) grow and as previously mentioned it has no other mediums of Growth due to its lack of cognation.
Creatura of Animal and the principal (Law) of Growth
Next, we look at the animal creatura and how it is different from the plant creatura. We can observe that animal creatura are more able to cognate the principal of Growth. This increased understanding of the Growth principal comes in the medium of reproduction. In as much as the animal creatura, different from the plant creatura have a feeling of this process. All be it they are not able to control those such feelings or urges as a human would be the fact still stands that they have more of an appreciation of Growth in the form of feelings than a plant does of its reproduction. My main point being then that animal creatura are different from plant creatura in their ability to feel.
A medium of Growth which due to the lack of conciseness is not possible for plant creatura and sets animal creatura above them in the hierarchy of creatura. For me though after that distinction is made between the two creatura there is not an awful lot that separates the plant and animal creatura. The Lifeforce in both these vessels is heavily stunted in their potential of Growth due to their cognation being limited. The similarities between the two are for me, both reproduce, and both grow physically, the only difference is that animals have feelings associated with these processes. Because of this it would be worth mentioning that I have used the word cognation when talking about animal creatura I do use this word loosely however. I mean to say that animals are higher in the hierarchy simply because they possess a brain, even despite not using it in the way a human would. The lifeforce then has more potential to grow if feeling is associated as then the agent (animal creatura) more incentives to grow physically and reproduce if they gain can gratify that feeling they have. In other words, it makes the animal creatura try to grow more in order to gratify these feelings. So again, this is a reiteration of the reason why animal creatura is higher in this hierarchy, simply put because they can feel, and plants cannot. With that, the discussion of both plants and animal creatura comes to an end. Next, we look at the relationship of lifeforce and humans.
Humans, the principal of lifeforce and the soul
As you may have noticed I have been mentioning frequently about cognation. The reason for this is in my view there is a very special link between cognation and lifeforce’s mediums and potential for it’s Growth. It also explains why humans are at the top of the hierarchy and that reason is because full cognation or thinking is the ultimate medium for Growth that a creatura can have and due to the relationship between potential for Growth and mediums of Growth (that being one of positive correlation) it gives the lifeforce a near infinite way to grow. This is because the mind of a human has near infinite potential to come up with new ways to grow in the medium imagination as well as human’s ability to simulate scenarios. This require more explanation. The fact that the mind of a human creatura can come up with almost infinite ways to grow and imagine and play through what it would be like allows them to Grow to the capacity in which they can think. Which as mentioned is nearly infinite.
In terms of Life force then, it is the best possible case for lifeforce to be in a human creatura because in the human mind their limitless potential for Growth. As previously discussed, growing beyond what it previously was is lifeforce’s goal. Human creatura as a species are constantly capable of adapting and growing in any situation. This is to say the best position to Grow for lifeforce is in a human creatura. Now you could be thinking to yourself that humans are also limited to physical grow, however the fact is that the growing of the mind is limitless, that’s what makes human creatura fundamentally different. They can grow beyond their physical limitations infinitely in mental growth. Humans can consider ethereal concepts they are beyond by the constraints of their own worldly forms, due to their minds they can transcend that physical barrier and can grow with infinite potential. In other words, the Lifeforce can also grow beyond physical barriers infinite potential. The Lifeforce becomes what it once was in an ethereal form, but now with more than it previously was, it has direction, it has a mind.
The next question to ask then, what is the soul? What is the soul? The soul is exclusive to human creatura and is the point in which the physical transcends to ethereal. For me this is when thought occurs for the first memorable time. It is then dependant to language, which for me in its simplest form is the ability to give meaning to the world around you, an ability which plant and animal creatura lack. Language is important as you cannot coherently construct thought if you are unable to form language because you are simply unable to give meaning to the world around you in a complex way. The soul is then dependant on a creaturas ability to construct thought to be considered a soul, the catalyst for this construction is the mind (a brain in which thoughts can occur and be formulated).
What then is the soul? For me it is Lifeforce existing in the human mind and when it can grow based on thoughts. At the point of a memorable thought is when lifeforce for me turns into a soul, when the lifeforce has the ability to grow infinitely and also with that when an impression can be made onto it. This idea of impression is when lifeforce is being influenced by things of the same nature, in this case I am classifying thoughts as an eternal substance much like lifeforce is an intangible and ethereal substance itself. Thoughts change and make the lifeforce grow in a unique way based off the individual human creatura that the particular lifeforce inhabits. Thoughts of the individual make the lifeforce unique to that person by directly changing the lifeforce with a medium of the same type of lifeforce. This is to say that the soul for me is then when Lifeforce is first influenced by a thought. That is when the lifeforce becomes a soul, when it is imprinted by a thought. This is then to say a soul is a unique form of lifeforce based with infinite potential of Growth.
The Ethics that come with a soul
Why shouldn’t you cut your arm off? Now at this point there may be some questions of ethics floating through your head, such as “Why do I value life?” or “Why do I do anything at all? “. Which raises the issue then of ethics in relation to my theory of the soul. I would say firstly that the whole point of lifeforce and the process to Grow is, as I have mentioned is to grow beyond what it previously was. Now with that in mind I consider this to be the ethics that my theory would dictate; The question that must be asked is do I benefit from this action/choice or not, do I gain something? If we do (gain something) then generally speaking the choice is rationalised in our heads to be moral or even a positive feeling, if however, it provides no such benefit to the agent in question then the choice can be considered to be immoral or stupid depending on the severity there are a whole load of negative adjectives to describe a negative feeling, but in essence that’s all it is.
There is a whole manner of different reasons why we do things which mostly revolve around feeling good. The dormant lifeforce within us seeks only to grow it will, much like animals give us a positive feeling which we can equate to being Growth or if something is gained from doing a particular action. So, growth would be achieved if a positive feeling is achieved OR/ AS WELL that we gain something from the exchange. It is also very important to consider that this is dependent on an agent to agent bases. If a psychopath kills for fun, in their head, his lifeforce will be growing because he is achieving a goal or to put it another way they are benefiting (getting joy from) killing. Their lifeforce (to them) will feel like it is growing which is all it is concerned with that then would be enough form them to justify it. This goes without saying but their rationale may be different from person to person. I am suggesting though that we can see lifeforce as an underpinning explanation for not just psychotic people’s behaviour but our own as well.
Think about this briefly: If I told you to cut your arm off for literally no reason, would you do it? Of course not. So that asks the question then why wouldn’t you do it? You would not do something which provided absolutely no benefit to you what so ever. You have zero incentive to cut your arm off, it benefits you (the agent) in no way. So most likely you would get a bad feeling or thoughts telling you not to which for me comes form the development of lifeforce into a soul. Unlike animals we also consider actions not just with feelings but with rationale due to our souls. Animals on the other hand have no such qualms with killing as their lifeforce’s only medium for providing incentives to grow is a feeling which cannot be resisted. For humans though we too act with incentives but consider what’s in it for us more and we can give value to what will help us Grow more in the form of bargaining or consideration of two outcomes. Either you keep your arm which helps you write EPQ’s, play tennis and many other things or you chop it off for no such gain.
You would simply not get rid of your arm for no reason or any potential benefit. What I am suggesting that the reason you need such incentives is due to the lifeforce’s influence and making you want to be more than you were or to benefit in a way. You see, as the lifeforce becomes more sophisticated with the turning into a soul so too does Growth. For humans, it mostly takes the form of reason or purpose, to put it simply a why question. Why would you not want to cut your arm off then? Well I am sure your own mind can come up with a whole manner of reasons to not do that. For me though I would put it down to your lifeforce being a soul, then interpreting through your mind and assessing the potential gain for you / the Growth that you will get from doing said action or making a specific choice. If, however you don’t think what I am saying to be true then try this: Can you come up with something which you would do for completely no gain to you?
Why do you value life? The next question which builds upon some of the ground already discussed is “Why do you value life?”. Firstly, it is important for me to reiterate that rationale will be different from person to person but will always have underpinning foundations in the Growth law of lifeforce relative to how that person in question perceives the benefits or how they will Grow. So, when considering this question, I would have to interpret it from my perspective. So for me it is important to consider the role that Growth and lifeforce play in this. When asking the question why do I value life I must first consider what would be the purpose / benefit to me valuing life in the first place? If I had no incentive to do this, to value life in my opinion I wouldn’t. It would serve no purpose to me. However I do value it because for me I benefit from doing so, If I was to go around murdering people my lifeforce would not grow because me personally do not feel as though that is a good thing to do. As previously discussed lifeforce can take the form of feelings and thoughts so mostly likely I would think and feel bad about doing it. However I am under no illusion that if I felt (in an extreme circumstance) that I need to kill someone in order to preserve my one life then I would for example. This is because I would not be able to grow if my life was to end so as a result I want to prevent that from happening.
To ground this a bit more then let’s say this; I, as a completely rational citizen gain certain benefits from abiding by the social and legal norms of the land. My soul would then be happy with this because it is free to grow in anyway it pleases (see the section on the soul), I am not prohibited if I keep within certain parameters e.g. the law and social norms. My soul or mind would rationalize this why to be “If I stay within these laws I can grow” whether I am conscious of this or not doesn’t nesecerially matter as I exert a particular reaction to this anyone i.e. having a feeling of guilt if I was to think of going outside these laws or in this case murdering someone. What I am inferring is my soul gains more if it stays within these rules which is the reason why I don’t simply do as I please. However in such a situation where my life comes under threat and the only way to prevent my soul forming leaving me and becoming lifeforce once again it could be more beneficial for me to kill in order that I may grow still. My point being that when considering any ethical situation we must always be aware that our decisions, whether we like or not are dependent on the benefits that we get from such situations. We are egotistically focused due to our souls (Lifeforce) need to grow.
So then to answer the question why do I value life? Because it allows me the best possible position to grow, which is as a result of my soul, WHICH will justify this growth and come up with a reason to which I should value life. However just as easily if my soul observes that its position to grow is in peril it shall conclude that the situation has changed and act accordingly to save itself so it may have the best means to grow. A needless / purposely killing of someone benefits me in no way so I would simply not do it.
