The Soul and the Afterlife: The Physical Reality of Religious Concepts

Introduction

This essay explores the religious concepts of the soul, afterlife, heaven, and hell through the lens of evolutionary biology and information theory, proposing a naturalistic perspective that seeks to bridge the divide between atheistic rationality and religious belief. While ambitious, this synthesis requires careful consideration to avoid oversimplification and to maintain intellectual rigor.

The modern consciousness often denies the afterlife, while paradoxically, the worship of death seems to be rising through popular culture. Coming from a natural science background, I initially dismissed any notion of religious concepts such as the soul, and the afterlife in heaven or hell. Over time, however, a desire to transcend the individual perspective, akin to an ant in a hive trying to grasp the forest, grew within me. This shift aimed to connect my existence with the eternal tree of life and the evolutionary processes driving it, leading to a reconceptualization of these ancient concepts as physical realities when clearly defined, rather than religious dogma.

Reconceptualizing the Soul as Information

Defining the Soul

Traditionally viewed as a mystical essence, the soul can be reinterpreted through modern science as the composite of genetic and memetic information that defines individual and collective identities. This definition aligns with the concept of information continuity observed in biological evolution, where life is seen as an ongoing flow of genetic data.

Simply put, the soul equals information. Life itself is the growth of information, with the tree of life built of branches of genetic and memetic information. The human soul comprises the information we inherit, inhabit, and embody—we are our genes and memes. Each living being has arisen from an unbroken chain of information being reproduced and propagated into the future. Defining information as a process that structures and transforms the environment, it processes environmental data in an output that achieves some outcome with a probability higher than random.

Scientific Foundations

By grounding this definition in established scientific theories such as genetics and memetics, the concept of the soul is stripped of its metaphysical elements and discussed as a measurable, observable phenomenon. The soul, in this context, represents the continuity of information through reproduction and cultural transmission, akin to Dawkins' theory of memes as units of cultural evolution.

The Afterlife: Continuing the Flow of Information

Evolutionary Perspective on Afterlife

Rejecting the traditional view of the afterlife as a metaphysical realm, the essay proposes an interpretation of the afterlife as the persistence of one's genetic and memetic influence in physical reality. This perspective is supported by evolutionary biology, which illustrates how traits and behaviors perpetuate beyond the death of the individual.

It should be obvious that the afterlife exists in the sense that after an individual's death life goes on. Each individual dies, but the collective process keeps rushing into the future. The individual in its formation ceases to exist, but as long as the information it inherited and passed down is adopted by future generations, it, in a sense, is still living. The consciousness of the individual, based on all that we know, fades out, but the consciousness of its descendants burns bright.

Heaven and Hell: Metaphors for Evolutionary Success and Failure

Redefining Heaven and Hell

In the framework of evolutionary biology, heaven and hell can be understood as metaphors for the outcomes of different evolutionary strategies. Heaven represents the successful propagation of adaptive traits and memetic information, whereas hell refers to the cessation of genetic or cultural lines due to maladaptation.

I find it most simple and useful to think of heaven and hell as life or death in the eternal sense. If your information stream is maladapted to the selective forces of the environment, the information you embody will stop propagating into the future. If the information you embody is highly adapted, it will have more and more individuals that embody it in the future and it will channel more energy.

Addressing the Dichotomy of Life and Death

The Reality of Evolution

The essay delves into the harsh reality of natural selection, where only certain information survives through adaptation. This scientific fact reflects the existential and philosophical contemplation of life's impermanence and the inevitability of death. Yet, it is in this hard truth—the ceaseless dying and halting of propagation across countless species and individuals—that the mechanism of adaptation and evolution finds its function.

Emotional and Moral Reconciliation

Understanding ourselves as integral parts of the grand tree of life—encompassing the single soul that we all embody—provides a way to reconcile the emotional and moral sides of this reality. This perspective fosters a dissociation from mere individuality and an association with a collective soul. It recognizes that for the whole to thrive, parts of it must inevitably perish. The information we embody is shared with the rest of the tree to varying degrees, and while parts of us will live on and may be transmitted by other branches, others will not. This realization encourages us always to strive to increase shared information with the future, earning a spot in 'heaven'—the branch that keeps growing—while accepting that everything will eventually die, and the process of death is essential for the system to live.

Practical Implications for Contemporary Life

Decision-Making and Moral Judgments

Embracing our role in this broader evolutionary narrative not only reconciles us with the transient nature of individual existence but also influences our decisions and behaviors, encouraging actions that ensure the longevity and adaptability of our genetic and cultural contributions. Recognizing that after your life, life will go on, and the things you do will impact future generations provides a framework for making decisions and judging right from wrong. Actions more likely to increase shared information with the future are deemed 'right,' while those leading to lower adaptation and decreasing the chance of propagation are considered 'wrong.'

Compassion Based on Shared Existence

By recognizing that all living beings are part of one soul, an eternal shape of life where we all share information with the whole tree, we can foster greater empathy and acceptance, appreciating our shared struggle for survival and propagation. Understanding that there will always be individuals embodying the strand headed for destruction allows us to have compassion and acceptance based on this shared reality. This is the eternal shape of life, and we all share information with the whole tree. The parts of information we embody will go on, some parts will not, it is a reality shared by each of us, in different degrees.

Conclusion

In exploring the metaphysical concepts of the soul, afterlife, heaven, and hell through the lenses of evolutionary biology and information theory, this essay aims to offer a bridge between the realms of science and spiritual belief. By reconceiving these traditional religious concepts in terms of information and evolutionary processes, we can see them not just as abstract theological ideas but as integral to our understanding of human existence and continuity.

Understanding our part in the grand evolutionary narrative doesn’t just reconcile us with our mortal limits; it also encourages us to live in ways that positively influence future generations. Each decision and action can be viewed through the lens of whether it helps or hinders the propagation of beneficial information—our cultural and genetic legacy.

Moreover, recognizing our connection to the grand, collective soul helps alleviate the despair associated with the traditional concept of hell. By viewing death not as an end but as a transition within an ongoing flow of information, we remove the sting of finality and instead focus on our contributions to the continuity of life. This perspective fosters a compassionate and empathetic view towards others, acknowledging our shared journey in the vast tree of life. It teaches us to value cooperation and altruism, seeing them not just as moral choices but as vital to our collective survival and prosperity.

Ultimately, this approach doesn't diminish the significance of our individual lives but enriches them. It offers a framework that not only deepens our understanding of life's complexities but also guides us in living more thoughtful and impactful lives. By aligning our actions with the broader needs of the evolutionary process, we contribute to a legacy that extends far beyond our own time, ensuring that even in death, our influence continues.