Welcome back to the 1st Law Newsletter - Friday Edition.

In this email:

• The immortality of the soul

• What does freedom mean to you?

• A quote from my favorite physicist: Richard P. Feynman

An ancient Greek discussion of the body and the soul

What does a human consist of? According to the ancient Greeks, a human consists of a physical body and a metaphysical soul. The soul allows consciousness. The soul is immortal while the body is mortal. Perfect opposites. The yin and yang of existence.

Death is simply the soul separating form the body. However, being opposites, it can be reasoned that if the body is mortal then the soul must be immortal. Souls cannot be created or destroyed, but perhaps they can change form. This can lead to a belief in rebirth, for if the soul is immortal and cannot be destroyed, the soul must find a new vessel to bring to life - thus birth is the matching of a body with a soul.

Anybody who considers themselves a philosopher should not fear death. If one has spent their lifetime contemplating death and the matters of the soul, they should welcome death for they will no longer be impeded by trifling matters of a human body such as rest and nourishment. Their soul will be free.

Yeah I probably butchered that lol... but if you are interested and would like to read more about the soul, I recommend Phaedo by Plato.

Three Aspects of Freedom

Of course we are all sovereign people with complete control over our own minds, however freedom goes beyond having free thoughts. When I think about freedom, three aspects of life come into mind.

First, financial freedom. To be free I need to be able to sustain myself financially indefinitely without worry. This does not mean abundance per say, but simply necessity. If I have enough money to pay rent and buy food every month, I would be free financially.

Second, time freedom. Hand in hand with financial freedom is freedom to use my time how I want. Not having to be in a specific place at a specific time, not having to work 8 hours a day just to put food on my table and a roof over my head. I would have the ability to spend my day how I pleased. I could spend 5 hours at the gym, read for 3 hours, take my time cooking dinner, etc... There are an unlimited amount of items I could spend my time doing when money is no longer a factor in how to spend time. Note - this does not mean I would never work, I would simply only work on projects that inspire me and that have outcomes that are not purely financial. I could focus on impact rather than income.

Third, freedom of location. Freedom of location, to me, means being able to change my scenery, go to cottages, stay at friends houses, go camping, visit other countries and travel at will. Key word is at will, without having to book vacation days or ask my boss... Just being able to say yes to activities that I would like to do. This freedom is facilitated by no longer having to be at a job for 8 hours a day, but could also mean having the ability to work remotely.

Quote I Want To Share

In my opinion, this is an interesting take on the progression of science. We simply move between models of best fit and upgrade when we create a more accurate model. All of our theories are merely approximations... perhaps there is a universal law or equation that describes everything that has ever existed, exists, or will exist. We are just working from both ends of the thread, treating them as separate things when really they are all the same.

Thanks for reading!

Lucas