Are Humans Like Butterflies?

The caterpillar lives a fairly simple existence, slinking along, dodging the ravenous appetites of birds, all the while devouring as much food as possible.&nbsp; At some point he finds a choice spot and forms a cocoon around himself and begins one of the most astonishing transformations within nature: he turns into a butterfly.&nbsp; During this metamorphosis he sheds all his caterpillar “fur” (his setae), his caterpillar legs, and even his caterpillar antennae.&nbsp; His slender body, too, gives way to the chrysalitic soup, as his own digestive juices consume him.&nbsp; Not even his head survives intact, but dissolves until all that he was liquifies into the ingredients necessary to form his butterfly “self.”&nbsp; I put “self” in quotes because it’s not clear whether anything of the caterpillar actually survives the transformation.&nbsp; There is evidence of at least some memory being carried through the change, though how this occurs remains a mystery.&nbsp; Nonetheless, nearly all that is caterpillar is gone.&nbsp; What emerges is an entirely new and beautifully winged creature. <a rel="payment" href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=40503836&fan_landing=true">Support this podcast</a>