Thoughts On Eternity

Because death is forever.

For in the infinite there is no place, the individual is himself the place.
-Soren Kierkegaard, 1846
Contact | About

About

The purpose of this Web site is to discuss eternity and other concepts in relation to it.

There are many reasons to think about eternity, and to think about various ideas in light of eternity. I plan to write more about these in separate posts, but here are a few:

  • Eternity opens a side door to interesting topics that aren’t as accessible from head on. Thinking about eternity causes us to think about time and space, the self, how we live, and the reasons for living.

  • To think about eternity, we might also think about the wall at the end of each of our lives. Often, we ignore the fact of that wall along with whatever might lie beyond it.

  • Topics that might seem “out there” in the course of everyday life would not seem crazy at all in the light of eternity (for example, at the deathbed), whether one is a religious person or a secularist.

  • Eternity isn’t only an idea, nor is it merely a motivating idea, but also it is a way of thinking. There is something in the way our minds work that might be viewed as “the eternal.”

Talking about most of the “big questions” of life is hard because they share that unique blend of ponderousness and overfamiliarity that make for a tiresome conversation prospect.

Are you interested in joining a discussion about death, or the soul, or the self, or “religion,” or the meaning of life—or hearing what someone else thinks about these topics? Probably not. And neither am I, usually.

Even in the friendly company of my own thoughts, such weighty topics before long tend to tire out my brain and lead me to checking Twitter or envisioning lunch.

But for me at least, “eternity” is different. I can ruminate about eternity without feeling like it’s abstract. It doesn’t lead to boredom or the slough of existential despond.

I think there are several reasons for this. For one, eternity seems to fall within the “scientific” category, which even the most scientifically ignorant among us likes to think we can tackle with aplomb.

Also, it hasn’t been beaten to death like most of the other big questions.

And finally, it’s accessible. You can start with zero prior knowledge of what anyone has said or written on the topic, and get right into the meat of it using only the definition of the word and your own imagination.

Thoughts on eternity are worthwhile because they can help any of us, from whatever philosophical or religious background, think about matters of ultimate importance.

Usually, when we think about eternity, we are also thinking about something else.

NOTE: SK quote in sidebar is from: Purity of heart Is To Will One Thing, translated by Douglas V. Steere (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1956/1846), 186.