An Exploration of Humanism via Oysterhood
I am reading through Daniel Klein's wonderful little book "Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change It: Wisdom of the Great Philosophers on How to Live." Starting on page 81 he has a wonderful meditation on the David Hume quote “The life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyster.” Klein makes a lot of great points there which lead back to meaningfulness and fulfillment in life, despite our existential smallness. I don't want to recount his points here (because he does a better job with his ideas than I would, and you should read the book). But I want to supplement his insights with my own wonderings as I read Hume's nihilist assessment of the importance of both man and oyster.
