Williams, Nietzsche, and the meaninglessness of immortality
Mind 115 (458):311-330 (2006)
| Abstract | In this essay I consider the argument that Bernard Williams advances in ‘The Makropolus Case’ for the meaninglessness of immortality. I also consider various counter-arguments. I suggest that the more clearly these counter-arguments are targeted at the spirit of Williams's argument, rather than at its letter, the less clearly they pose a threat to it. I then turn to Nietzsche, whose views about the eternal recurrence might appear to make him an opponent of Williams. I argue that, properly interpreted, these views in fact make him an ally. | |||||||||
| Keywords | immortality Nietzsche | |||||||||
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