In this selection Nagel reflects on the sense of absurdity that most of us feel from time to time. The sense of absurdity arises, he says, from the "collision between the seriousness with which we take our lives and the perpetual possibility of regarding everything about which we are serious as arbitrary, or open to doubt." Nagel thinks that Camus's response to the absurd (defiance or scorn) is inappropriate; it's "romantic and slightly self-pitying." He prefers instead to approach the absurd with acceptance, with irony instead of heroism or despair.
-Nagel observes that humans have the special capacity to step back and survey ourselves.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Thomas Nagel discusses the absurdity of life, contrasting his views with those of Albert Camus. Nagel indeed argues that the sense of life's absurdity comes from the clash between the importance we place on our lives and the possibility of seeing our concerns as insignificant. He criticizes Camus's defiant stance towards the absurd, advocating instead for an acceptance of absurdity through irony, rather than through heroism or despair.

In This Selection Nagel Reflects on the Sense of Absurdity