Eternal Return

Eternal return (also known as "eternal recurrence") is a concept which posits that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form an infinite number of times across infinite time or space. The concept is found in Indian philosophy and in ancient Egypt and was subsequently taken up by the Pythagoreans and Stoics. With the decline of antiquity and the spread of Christianity, the concept fell into disuse in the Western world, though Friedrich Nietzsche resurrected it as a thought experiment to argue for amor fati.

In addition, the philosophical concept of eternal recurrence was addressed by Arthur Schopenhauer. It is a purely physical concept, involving no supernatural reincarnation, but the return of beings in the same bodies. Time is viewed as being not linear but cyclical.

Read more about Eternal Return:  Premise, Classical Antiquity, Indian Religions, Judaism, Renaissance, Friedrich Nietzsche, PoincarĂ© Recurrence Theorem, Modern Cosmology, Arguments Against Eternal Return, References in Other Literature, References in Popular Culture

Famous quotes containing the words eternal and/or return:

    Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love. Everything is united by it alone. Love is God, and to die means that I, a particle of love, shall return to the general and eternal source.
    Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910)

    We must return optimism to our parenting. To focus on the joys, not the hassles; the love, not the disappointments; the common sense, not the complexities.
    Fred G. Gosman (20th century)