How the Body is Equipped to Die
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The Absurdity of Death
A key philosopher in Jangled Jester's overall philanthropy is Albert Camus, the father of absurdism. Absurdism is a philosophical antidote to the pessimistic nihilism, where nihilism first addresses the core meaninglessness of existence, then absurdism follows through with an invitation to live blissfully in light of the absurd. Embracing the absurd means honoring evolutions of creativity and meaning-making and using our biological skills to create joy and adventure regardless of life's overall lack of meaning. If there's no divine reason for anything to live, this also means there isn't a predestined reason to resent it. The Big Bang appears pointless, and the universe indifferent, to many who perceive its randomness, chaos, and lack of divine guidance. Although this can be depressing at face value, especially in context of dying, there remains an opportunity to design our life's purpose and achieve peace and equilibrium.
Camus resolves the nihilist's dilemma by highlighting the body's ability to generate meaning for one's self and respect human choice and decision-making. Lacking a divine purpose doesn't negate the talents we've evolved to achieve a sense of decision-making and freewill over one's direction or to live and invent meaning in life despite limitations and suffering. "Should I kill myself, or have another cup of coffee?" Camus famously asked. Cheers from my cup of coffee to yours here in the cemetery.
As we sip and contemplate, may these conversations bring peace and settlement to your spirit instead of disturbance and pain this halloween season. Talking about death doesn't have to be perplexing and sad, although there's no way around the brutality that comes from early loss, loss from disease, or traumatic loss. The Cemetery discussions are designed to bring insight and hope around natural death, preparing you for a good death, and integrating a positive outlook on end of life. In this article, we're exploring how the body is equipped to die and how death's process can be reevaluated as in tune with universal entropy and not something to fear.
What Causes Death
In early life, we grow by cells splitting, copying, and regenerating. The body keeps itself alive by cell division. A cell duplicates its DNA, splits the copies, and becomes two cells. In this way, the body is like a copy machine. Eventually, the machine wears down, it can't keep up with cell regeneration because as DNA is copied, the end of a chromosome shortens, also known as the end-replication problem. When the telomeres of chromosomes are replicated but also continuously worn down and shortening, eventually this depletes cell regeneration and causes aging and dying.
As of today, there are no reliable cures for telomere shortening or the end-replication problem. It's possible to invent science that restores cell division and motivates longevity, though humanity would nonetheless face the same death dilemma in the universe's own dying through its impending heat death. The universe is billions of years old, and it will endure for an estimated 10^100 years longer. It all started with the Big Bang, but it'll end in a Big Freeze. As existence expands, it simultaneously cools down. This wave-like pattern between order and disorder is known as entropy. Because the universe is a closed system, eventually it will use all of its energy, and it, too, will die.
How the Body is Equipped to Die
Dying naturally isn't as difficult or scary as many assume. In fact, the body has built-in tools to pass away smoothly and minimize suffering in the experience. The metabolic rate slows as organs shut down, decreasing appetite and avoiding sensations of thirst and hunger so you don't feel the same sensory longing. Calcium levels rise and act as a mild sedation. The body enters ketosis which releases surges of pain-relieving endorphins. Loss of consciousness resembles deep sleep, limiting pain receptors and the sense of fear or struggle despite loss of bodily functioning. A powerful release of chemicals causes euphoria and bliss in one's final moments, reminding us that nature has geared us to experience our final act of dying in harmony instead of horror.
