The Eternal Recurrence

[Theaetetus]

Well, eternal in this case has nothing to do with the infinite. The fact that life is considered eternal means that we only have one life. The recurrence means that life is not of infinite duration, as the Christians would have eternal life, because a life that is of infinite duration cannot recur.

[Fido]

Originally Posted by Theaetetus

Well, eternal in this case has nothing to do with the infinite. The fact that life is considered eternal means that we only have one life. The recurrence means that life is not of infinite duration, as the Christians would have eternal life, because a life that is of infinite duration cannot recur.

In the case of infinite recurrence the infinite is not infinite and it is not the life which by recurring infinitely that is infinte, and instead finite, but it is the recurrence which is infinite??? Are you serious, or do I not understand a bit of what you said????

People like to play this game called I wish I could do that over... The longer we live the more we find our success falling behind our regrets...So we live and learn, but to dip ones philosophy into fantasy in the hopes of raising some sugar is pitiful... Life is not eternal, except in the sense of society, and the possibility of learning from the collective mistakes of mankind, through morality, is slight, because youth is not only ignorant, but mad...Humanity survives its youth, and that is the best any individual can desire, for once beyond youth we can learn and teach, and then we die, forever...

[Reconstructo]

In my view, Nietzsche suggest an acceptance of that fact there is no do-over. I think the point of eternal recurrence is a denial of escapism.

Would we be horrified if an angel told us we had to live this exact life over and over again for ever? We forced to judge our finite particular life as good, with all its utterly in-erasable pain and error. I think this relates directly to Heidegger's concept of authenticity. Can we accept contingency? All the ugly little details that make us (all too often?) not want to live it again. Can we accept life on earth without any hope of afterlife or perfection beyond that which we can experience as our particular selves? (Presumably momentary feelings...)

[Arjuna]

Suzy is concerned about animal welfare. It pervades her experience. Every sacrifice she makes... makes her feel like she's doing something to help. She takes the role of the preacher... scattering condemnation every where she goes. All the while, her heart is eaten up by grief. Her secret fear of futility coils in her belly like a snake.

She really is working for animals. She's also manifesting repetition. Maybe as an old woman this will finally dawn on her. That what shaped her life was much older than she... evolving down through the ages.. revolving over and over. All she ever had to do was look back to see what would happen next: we will fail, and we will survive. No need for self righteousness. No need for drama. No need for tears and grief. But then, as a beautiful young protester, she couldn't possibly have let go of her angst. Life had no other meaning.

Suzy's best friend was Jim, a sensitive young man. What blew Suzy's ego up and made her feel important, felt like salt on a wound to Jim. Jim was afflicted with an open heart. His will to fight was undermined by poor coping skills. On the brink of being destroyed by life, Jim realizes the truth. The animals are going to be ok. Everything's going to be ok. The futility of their fight is ok. The realization of repetition is Jim's salvation. It makes it so he can live.