Repository | Book | Chapter

One needn't encounter a sperm whale hurtling through the atmosphere to be struck by the absurdity of existence. Although the grind of daily life might not often afford us the opportunity for quiet contemplation, many of us find that our minds are occasionally overtaken as we toss and turn some sleepless nights by questions such as: "Why am I here?" or "What's my purpose in life?" — exactly the kinds of questions the sperm whale itself pondered during its exceptionally brief existence. In the rare moments that we do have for reflection — and when we"re not puzzling over the question of why we would spend so much of the time between birth and death wearing digital watches — it is hard not to be struck by a sense of our own deep insignificance in the vast universe as a whole.

DOI: 10.1007/978-0-230-39265-6_4

Full citation: