Anima Mundi, without the Death

The body is heavy. The spirit is free. The spirit resides within the body until death, weighing it down until then and establishing the motto, "head rules the belly with the aid of the chest."

Then there's the Internet.

Alright, so, in the digital realm and virtual reality, we can't do anything and everything imagineable. We can only simulate things, and to limited extents; until someone develops nerve synapses that can be implanted to give you chills when skiing down icy slopes, the smell of burning gunpowder on a battlefield, or the taste of... well, whatever you might choose to virtually eat (which would be a little odd)... we're left with only visual and audible simulation, fulfilling only two out of the five standard human senses.

Nonetheless, the Internet is a completely separate realm from the physical world, albeit manifested in physical terms through computers, electricity, etc. We interact with the Internet through physical devices, but we interact with each other and with material (software) within the realm that is the Internet. Over the last 15 years, we've developed a global social network through various means (e.g. email, IM, P2P, SMS, SNS, etc.) and are now able to connect with anyone willing to converse. Now, given the means to fulfill all 5 of the human senses through physical devices, you would probably start to see many people permamently 'connecting', both to the Internet and to whatever group of people someone might choose, and begin to abandon the real world. Where much physical action is necessary in the real world to complete a task, the Internet can provide instant gratification (depending on the nature of the desired act) with no physical effort necessary in any situation. So, delete the need for physical devices to delve into the Internet -- save an implant or two -- and you have created another dimension altogether, existant within the hum of computers and wires around the world. People could sit down in a chair, lie down in a bed, whatever is most relaxing to them in the real world; then connect to the Internet in their mind and live the rest of their life within the digital realm, letting their body sit in the real world until they either remember to come back to eat, sleep, whatever else necesary, or they forget altogether and rot away.

*big sigh from crowd* Okay, connection with anima mundi now, plz?

We are on the way to creating a realm where the 'World Soul' can be simulated without death: in the Internet. Mind you, that's certainly not 'anima mundi' since that speaks specifically of existence after death and complete freedom from the body; but with the right means available to us, we could satisfy the energy and unity of the spirit, save the immortality due to the continued need of our bodies to interact with the Internet, and sight since... well, if anything, one becomes more stupid when on the Internet. :P

It's a stretch of an observation (and hopefully that won't be the understatement of the month), but I can really see how 'anima mundi' can be related to the Internet, provided we had a means to interact with and through it and the ability to trigger all five standard human senses. There would still be so much missing, such as the immortality and sight as previously mentioned; but more still that's currently accessible to us, such as the emotional and physical bond that can be shared between a couple, friends, or parents and their children. We would miss out on all of nature and the pleasures it can give to the body and soul. Of course, these and broader points could probably be argued if software could simulate these things, but nothing artificial will ever be as satisfying as 'the real thing'.

I was just pondering some of this stuff when 'anima mundi' was brought up (yes, I ponder a lot. XP ). Comment away if you've got anything to say.