11 quotes
Each new generation asks – What is the meaning of life? A more fertile way of putting the question would be – Why does man need a meaning to life?
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)
The seed of a metaphysical or religious defeat is in us all. For the honest questioner, however, who doesn’t seek refuge in some faith or fantasy, there will never be an answer.
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)
The immediate facts are what we must relate to. Darkness and light, beginning and end.
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)
If one regards life and death as natural processes, the metaphysical dread vanishes, and one obtains "peace of mind".
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)
Mankind ought to end its existence of its own will.
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)
Death is the most certain and the most uncertain event there is.
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)
Death is a terrible provocation. It appears almost everywhere, presenting a stern but effective scale for both values and ethical standards.
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)
Man is a tragic animal. Not because of his smallness, but because he is too well endowed. Man has longings and spiritual demands that reality cannot fulfill. We have expectations of a just and moral world. Man requires meaning in a meaningless world.
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)
We come from an inconceivable nothingness. We stay a while in something which seems equally inconceivable, only to vanish again into the inconceivable nothingness.
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)
The absurdity of life cannot be resolved, but it can be terminated. We can overcome this meaningless world order by constantly letting two become one, over and over again, until the very last human being disappears; an uninhabited Earth is no misfortune.
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)
In accordance with my conception of life, I have chosen not to bring children into the world. A coin is examined, and only after careful deliberation, given to a beggar, whereas a child is flung out into the cosmic brutality without hesitation.
The Humorous Pessimist (1990)