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Thomas Nagel, "The Absurd"
Thomas Nagel explores the concept of absurdity, arguing that the significance of our actions is not diminished by their perceived lack of importance over time. He contrasts his views with those of Camus, discussing the internal conflict between our aspirations and the indifferent reality of the universe. Nagel suggests that we must balance seriousness about our goals with an awareness of the absurdity of life, advocating for a perspective that incorporates both humility and irony.
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Thomas Nagel, "The Absurd"
- 1. Thomas Nagel, “The Absurd”(1971) PHIL 102, Spring 2017 UBC Christina Hendricks Except images noted otherwise, this presentation is licensed CC-BY 4.0
- 2. Nagel: bad argumentsfor absurdity (1a) “Nothing we do now will matter in a million years” (716) 1 million yearsAction s Now Won’t matter But then: “nothing that will be the case in a million years matters now” (716) Doesn’t matter now
- 3. Nagel: bad argumentsfor absurdity (1b) “Nothing we do now will matter in a million years” (716) 1 million yearsAction s Now “If their mattering now is not enough ... how would it help if they mattered a million years from now?” (716) Matter now but not in 1m years: current actions absurd Matter now and/or in 1m years: current actions not absurd ??
- 4. Nagel: bad argumentsfor absurdity (2) Would infinite duration or larger size make our lives less absurd? We are tiny in the universe in terms of time and space (717) Image of galaxy by NASA
- 5. What matters isabsurdity now Are our lives meaningful or absurd now, as we are? • If lives have no meaning/ are absurd now, adding more years or size in universe wouldn’t make our lives less absurd. Life infinitely absurd .................. Life absurd
- 6. Nagel & Camuson absurdity Camus: a “divorce,” a “confrontation” between what humans want & “what the world offers” (7) Image of space licensed CC0 from pixabay.com
- 7. Nagel & Camuson absurdity Nagel: absurdity is a “discrepancy between ... aspiration and reality” (718) • More specifically: a collision between “two inescapable viewpoints” in us (719) Image of space licensed CC0 from pixabay.com “a collision within ourselves” (722)
- 8. Two viewpoints onour lives Seriousnes s Detachment From inside: we are seriously engaged in our lives, with effort, plans, goals; things have meaning (719) From outside: lives arbitrary b/c all meaning & purpose comes from internal perspective interna l external
- 9. Internal & external Goalsin life Reasons justifying those goals (e.g., beliefs, values) Detached from goals, reasons, beliefs, values These are only meaningful to me if I take them seriously, from perspective inside my life interna l external
- 10. Collision of viewpoints Weneed to take our lives seriously to live • Need to hold seriously to our beliefs, values, goals...make plans and work towards them Yet we can take a detached view • and so not take our lives, beliefs, values, etc. seriously Can these two be combined? How can we live with both? interna l external
- 11. Irony & Humility DetachmentSeriousnes s “Wereturn to our lives, as we must, but our seriousness is laced with irony” (724). Live with humility: between complete detachment & “blind self-importance” (The View from Nowhere 222).