Meaning and Organism. How Embodiment Enables Humanity

What actually makes us human? In his essay, Matthias Jung shows that meaning and significance are not purely products of the mind, but are deeply rooted in our physical existence. He argues against transhumanist dreams of liberation from the mortal organism: only vulnerable, sentient beings can experience what is meaningful. And only when we understand that our minds remain dependent on nature can we recognize the destructive consequences of our way of life. From the original emergence of meaning in physical experience to the digital revolution of our time, Jung pursues the thesis that embodied cognition forms the basis of all meaning. Neither artificial intelligence nor virtual realities can replace the organism as an “indicator of meaning.” A world without vulnerability would be a world without relevance – nihilism would be just around the corner.