THE EARTHLY BOUNDARIES OF ETERNITY
THE EARTHLY BOUNDARIES OF ETERNITY

Summary/Abstract: While there are many stories of man, one moment seems to recur in all of them. Thisis the belief that we need to be able, and want, to look in the mirror of something that isqualitatively larger than us. This is the intention of the tradition whose philosophicpatron is Plato. This need for unreality—the need for another world—presumably manifestsitself in every area of human activity. One can therefore talk about a specific needfor unreality that every real life satiates itself with. I provide examples of this need:science, religion, love, past and future. In the light of eternal life, we would be continuallybeset by the values for which we would be obliged to sacrifice our lives. In the lightof earthly life, such values are inconceivably less frequent. We learn the difficult art ofliving in a consumer world where we do not have to die.

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