I like this and agree. I too depend on nature to keep me sane. Bodily I feel happy about staying in the food chain when I die.
The only possible point of disagreement is whether our bodies is all there is to us. Our stuff will indeed be recycled but how about who we are, our consciousness? Seemingly you only ever find human consciousness where our brains are alive and operational. But where does consciousness come from? Is it emitted, transmitted or permitted by brains.
I always just figured it must be produced by brains once they become complex enough but there is no evidence for that. The idea that the brain is like a radio transmitter which picks up consciousness a transmitter picks up radio waves. That option has no appeal to me. Wherever consciousness is being transmitted from would still have to come from something. So I prefer permission: brains filter consciousness which, like matter, is an ontological primitive.
Those who believe it all comes down to matter are physicalists. Those who believe it all comes down to consciousness are idealists. But leaving them as equally basic ontologically seems most reasonable to me. So being part of the web of life and food chain handles the question what happens to our bodies when we die, but leaves untouched what happens to who we are subjectively in our consciousness. I don't know the answer but I think it is important to recognize it as an open question that is as yet unanswered.
Well, I actually didn't wade into the weeds of that unadulterated conjecture, but since you are sending out invitations, I will attend the party.
Here is my take on the consciousness puzzle.
I think that the
degree of consciousness of anything depends primarily on the complexity and connectedness of its essential elements. The elements in a rock, for example, have no connectedness (Exchange of information), so it is basically devoid of any consciousness. A tree, on the other hand does have some degree of connectedness and communication from it's roots to it's needles, and therefore has a rudimentary consciousness.
This pattern seems to hold true for birds, dogs, great apes, and humans. The more interactive the involvement of the separate parts, the more we observe an evolved consciousness. I guess I like to think of our brain cells as grapes. Separately they are just grapes, but when they come together in an interactive fashion, they can produce an exquisite wine (Albeit some are better than others). Likewise, independent musical notes on a page are nothing to write home about, but if they come together in a score, they can be quite impressive (Again, some are better than others).
The questions remains though as to whether there is a wine maker, a song writer, or it's just a random occurrence that has a surprising outcome. We may never discover that. Maybe the communication we are having with each other forms a collective consciousness. In any case, it's been a great party.
If you will permit me to set sail into the mind-blowing ocean of philosophical insanity, perhaps we are all just grapes, or notes on a page, but together we become part of a consciousness we can't fathom. Perhaps even our universe is a brain cell that was born at the Big Bang, and is part of an unimaginable multiverse and hive mind. We wouldn't know, any more than your Amygdala knows it is part of your consciousness.
All I have is a working theory that works for me. I'm not going to brand myself as a physicalist, or an idealist, but I sense that there is more to life than just matter and energy. I will always enjoy the quest for existential truth, but doubt those who claim they know it.
