Arguments Against Eternal Return
Nietzsche scholar Walter Kaufmann has described an argument originally put forward by Georg Simmel, which rebuts the claim that a finite number of states must repeat within an infinite amount of time:
Even if there were exceedingly few things in a finite space in an infinite time, they would not have to repeat in the same configurations. Suppose there were three wheels of equal size, rotating on the same axis, one point marked on the circumference of each wheel, and these three points lined up in one straight line. If the second wheel rotated twice as fast as the first, and if the speed of the third wheel was 1/π of the speed of the first, the initial line-up would never recur.
Read more about this topic: Eternal Return
Famous quotes containing the words arguments, eternal and/or return:
“We are seeing an increasing level of attacks on the selfishness of women. There are allegations that all kinds of social ills, from runaway children to the neglected elderly, are due to the fact that women have left their rightful place in the home. Such arguments are simplistic and wrongheaded but women are especially vulnerable to the accusation that if society has problems, its because women arent nurturing enough.”
—Grace Baruch (20th century)
“Were I laid on Greenlands Coast,
And in my Arms embracd my Lass;
Warm amidst eternal Frost,
Too soon the Half Years Night would pass.”
—John Gay (16851732)
“Adolescence is a time when children are supposed to move away from parents who are holding firm and protective behind them. When the parents disconnect, the children have no base to move away from or return to. They arent ready to face the world alone. With divorce, adolescents feel abandoned, and they are outraged at that abandonment. They are angry at both parents for letting them down. Often they feel that their parents broke the rules and so now they can too.”
—Mary Pipher (20th century)