In This Selection Nagel Reflects on the Sense of Absurdity

question 6

Multiple Choice

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.
-According to Nagel, a role in some larger enterprise or plan

• A) can in itself give our lives significance.
• B) cannot in itself give our lives significance.
• C) is not possible.
• D) proves the significance of the enterprise or plan.

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Definitions:

Plasma

The liquid part of the lymph and blood.

Electrolytes

Minerals in your blood and other body fluids that carry an electric charge and affect the amount of water in your body, the acidity of your blood (pH), your muscle function, and other important processes.

Capillaries

Microscopic blood vessels connecting arterioles and venules.

Lightning Strike

A natural electrical discharge of very short duration and high voltage between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud.