Born to Die, part three

The seventeenth-century philosopher René Descartes famously posited, “I think, therefore I am.” This leads me to ask, will I know when I am dead? Descartes’ assertion that the “self” is defined by consciousness inevitably leads to the question of the human body’s physical contribution to the thought process. Put another way, must I have a brain in order to think, or does that organ simply serve my human form to comprehend that which already is? I am intrigued by those who report recalling past lives, because I very honestly have no conscious memories of anything earlier than my second year of this life. Evidence of thought prior to entering this plane of existence would support the notion that “soul” or “spirit” exists independently, but I personally cannot produce such empirical proof. Being unable to do so puts me in the position of having to conclude that I am something from nothing, and that to nothing I shall return. Again, Occam’s Razor conjectures that this simplest explanation may prove to be the one that is true.