Orders of Substance and Immortality

 Ordinarily, substance is taken to be that which is “solid” in one way or another to the senses. However, the question must be asked whether that which is metaphysical, i.e., ideas are not perhaps substantial in a different sense. 

For it is apparent that representations in the imagination are capable of being brought into the realm of solidity by an act of the will. Now while those ideas as potential are merely at the condition of in-betweenness, as it were, are they not just as substantial as say the biological substrate of reality that may likewise not have as of yet come into being? 

In fact, may we not propose that since ideas may possibly be transformative of human social relationships that indeed qualitatively exceed the relatively fixed character, at least as far as willfulness is concerned, of biology alone, that their nature is of a higher ordering in so far as concerns their degree of freedom? 

Now, ideas to be brought from the imagination into fruition may be of distinct types. They may be broadly problem solving in applying existing practices in statecraft, scientific or artistic fields. They also may be novel creative breakthroughs in those same fields. These resolve themselves into levels of hypothesis.

Turning to ideas about ideas or better hypotheses about hypotheses, we enter into a uniquely human striatum in the ordering of reality. This schema is easily demonstrated to be capable of ongoing improvements in an open ended manner. Perfectibility.

Thus it is that the power within this open ended extended infinite history of humanity as a whole is sufficiently proven to be temporally immortal. And it is in that sense that we as substance outlive this our mere mortal coil of biological substance. Any other speculation about this question of immortality is therefore inconsequential.