In This Selection Nagel Reflects on the Sense of Absurdity

question 7

True/False

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.

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Definitions:

Fixed Costs

Expenses that do not change in proportion to the level of goods or services produced within a certain scale, such as rent or salaries.

Demand Schedule

A table or graph that shows the quantity of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices.

Variable Conversion Cost

Costs that vary with the level of production and are associated with converting raw materials into finished goods, excluding fixed costs.

Direct Material

Raw materials that can be directly traced to the production of a specific product and are a part of its finished composition.