# New Life Could Preserve the Spirit Not the Substance by J. D. Bernal > "Bit by bit the heritage of the direct line of mankind — the heritage of the original life emerging on the face of the world — would dwindle, and in the end disappear effectively, being preserved perhaps as some curious relic, while the new life which conserves none of the substance and all of the spirit of the old would take its place and continue its development." > **— J. D. Bernal**, *1929, The World, the Flesh and the Devil, “The Flesh”* ## Sources and Context - **Full source:** [J. D. Bernal, “The Flesh,” complete chapter](https://bactra.org/Bernal/flesh/). Bernal distinguishes material succession from the preservation of inherited human organization and meaning. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|We Were Never Going to Make It]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Substrate Migration|Substrate Migration]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/The World, the Flesh and the Devil|The World, the Flesh and the Devil]] - [[wiki/Substrate Migration|Substrate Migration]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "Bit by bit the heritage of the direct line of mankind — the heritage of the original life emerging on the face of the world — would dwindle, and in the end disappear effectively, being preserved perhaps as some curious relic, while the new life which conserves none of the substance and all of the spirit of the old would take its place and continue its development." — J. D. Bernal, 1929, The World, the Flesh and the Devil, “The Flesh” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-bernal-new-life-old-spirit ```