Existential Lit Final Paper
Part I
1. In Thomas Nagel's “The Absurd” (1971), he begins by addressing the standard arguments for declaring life to be absurd. The first argument he points out is the idea that nothing humans doing in the present will matter in the distant future, or as Nagel says, “in a million years” (Nagel 716). People believe that what they do now won't matter at all in a million years, and that they are just one person living in the now that will soon be gone and will therefore not matter and don't matter. Humans see this not mattering as a reason why life is absurd, since if nothing matters then the point of life is questioned. The second standard argument Nagel looks at is the idea that humans “are tiny specks in the infinite vastness of the universe” (Nagel 717). This idea focuses around space and time, and how individual humans only live for an extremely short amount of time in a tremendously vast universe. People see this as a reason why life is absurd, looking at their lives as such short increments of time, especially on the large scale of the universe. Since humans are so small and take up such little time with their lives, this is seen as a reason life is absurd. The third argument Nagel looks at is about not being able to justifying all of life's activities, since humans could die at any moment and will eventually. People go through sequences in life, one thing leading to the next, to accomplish something each step of the way, and therefore it is justified. However, eventually, life must end, and the chain of sequences will be cut off in the midst of one of the activities, and therefore will end without justification. “All of it is an elaborate journey leading to nowhere” (Nagel 717). These are the three standard arguments for explaining why life is absurd that Nagel discusses. Nagel, however, disagrees with these arguments and finds each invalid for specific reasons. When looking at the idea that nothing humans do now will matter in a million years, Nagel
1. In Thomas Nagel's “The Absurd” (1971), he begins by addressing the standard arguments for declaring life to be absurd. The first argument he points out is the idea that nothing humans doing in the present will matter in the distant future, or as Nagel says, “in a million years” (Nagel 716). People believe that what they do now won't matter at all in a million years, and that they are just one person living in the now that will soon be gone and will therefore not matter and don't matter. Humans see this not mattering as a reason why life is absurd, since if nothing matters then the point of life is questioned. The second standard argument Nagel looks at is the idea that humans “are tiny specks in the infinite vastness of the universe” (Nagel 717). This idea focuses around space and time, and how individual humans only live for an extremely short amount of time in a tremendously vast universe. People see this as a reason why life is absurd, looking at their lives as such short increments of time, especially on the large scale of the universe. Since humans are so small and take up such little time with their lives, this is seen as a reason life is absurd. The third argument Nagel looks at is about not being able to justifying all of life's activities, since humans could die at any moment and will eventually. People go through sequences in life, one thing leading to the next, to accomplish something each step of the way, and therefore it is justified. However, eventually, life must end, and the chain of sequences will be cut off in the midst of one of the activities, and therefore will end without justification. “All of it is an elaborate journey leading to nowhere” (Nagel 717). These are the three standard arguments for explaining why life is absurd that Nagel discusses. Nagel, however, disagrees with these arguments and finds each invalid for specific reasons. When looking at the idea that nothing humans do now will matter in a million years, Nagel