2009-10-09
Explanation
This comic imagines sperm cells as conscious beings capable of philosophical debate. In the first panel, sperm cells are shown swimming toward an egg. One sperm cell shouts to another: "Stop! You don't want to impregnate that egg! Sure, it's what you're told you want, but you'll lose your individuality!" This sperm is essentially making an existentialist argument against reproduction, warning that fertilization means the end of the sperm's individual existence.
The other sperm responds with an intellectual counter-argument: "Technically, I would combine my individuality with another individual. The Ship of Theseus problem tells us life is not a singular experience, but an ongoing flux of experiences." A third chimes in: "Well, we should define experience vis-a-vis sensory input, and the possibility of intuitive understanding." The sperm cells have devolved into an elaborate philosophical seminar rather than actually completing their biological mission.
The final panel cuts to a university setting where a student asks a professor: "Professor, how come philosophers never have philosopher kids?" The professor awkwardly responds "Well..." The punchline connects the absurd fantasy of philosophizing sperm to a real-world observation -- if even a philosopher's sperm would get bogged down in endless philosophical debate rather than acting, it explains why philosophers might not reproduce as readily. It is a joke about how overthinking and intellectualizing everything can prevent you from actually doing anything.
The votey shows a sperm cell that did fertilize the egg, with another sperm yelling "Sell out!" at it -- echoing the way ideological purists often attack anyone who compromises their principles for practical results.