PHI 101 Lecture 11: Nagel's Absurdism
28 Oct 2018
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Nagel e(cid:454)a(cid:373)i(cid:374)es a feeli(cid:374)g (cid:449)e ha(cid:448)e (cid:449)he(cid:374) (cid:449)e tr(cid:455) to ask (cid:449)hether our li(cid:448)es are i(cid:373)porta(cid:374)t (cid:862)i(cid:374) the gra(cid:374)d s(cid:272)he(cid:373)e of thi(cid:374)gs(cid:863). People so(cid:373)eti(cid:373)es talk a(cid:271)out this i(cid:374) ter(cid:373)s of our li(cid:448)es (cid:271)ei(cid:374)g (cid:862)a(cid:271)surd(cid:863). Nagel thinks that people are onto something though, when they say that life is absurd. Our own perspective on our lives, according to which things can be very serious and matter a great deal. The point of view from eternity according to which everything we take seriously seems open to doubt. Nagel thinks that we cannot help but take things seriously in our own lives. But, because we are self-reflective beings, we are forced to entertain doubts about whether these things are important. And from the perspective of eternity, the justifications for taking things seriously looks circular. Nagel does not think we can escape from this, either by giving up our tendency to take things seriously, or by defeating the doubts.
