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, Poincaré 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:
“There is the eternal war between those who are in the world for what they can get out of it and those who are in the world to make it a better place for everybody to live in.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“I got my first clear view of Ktaadn, on this excursion, from a hill about two miles northwest of Bangor, whither I went for this purpose. After this I was ready to return to Massachusetts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)