Hypotheses on immortality

Ideas are immortal. They are as close to the Platonic ideal as we will ever be able to manifest in life. Plato himself may be long dead, but his ideas are still read and discussed to this day and will continue to influence human thought in the future.

Being physically mortal, many people care deeply about leaving a legacy that will continue to live on after they die. For most of us, part or all of that legacy is children.

For me personally, I'm uncertain... If I have children, I feel like it'll be more than an opportunity to pass on my genes. I'll also have an opportunity to infect their minds with my ideas. And really, I can infect anyone's mind with my ideas, not just my children's. Individual bits of ideas can be recombined endlessly. As long as I add my awareness of Truth to the collective human consciousness, then pieces of me (my ideas) will live on forever.

If I am effective at teaching my children/disciples to pursue Truth, then their ideas will be added as well. And their children/disciples. And so on. From a single kernel of Truth, my legacy can grow exponentially.

Here are my ideas so far:

First: the pursuit of Truth is like the pursuit of immortality. My addition to humanity's awareness of Truth will live on after my physical body decays. This addition will ultimately be my legacy.

Second: Love enables the pursuit of Truth in an otherwise nihilistic universe. Without love, the pursuit of Truth doesn't result in immortality, and instead results in cold cynicism - a rejection of ideas, experience, and life itself.

What are your ideas? What makes you immortal?

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