Date of Award
2021
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. Philosophy Dept.
Advisor(s)
Jim Behuniak
Abstract
Grammatically, the question is rather simple. It is when we set out to answer the question that it suddenly becomes complex. What is nothing? Its very asking seems almost impossible because the ‘is’ within it brushes up against its meaning, producing paradox. How do we even begin to get at a something that is not a something? Immediately, you remark how similar this task is to a child chasing fairies in the forest or hunting for ghosts in the attic. Will we be doomed from the outset? If so, then what is the point? Our many predecessors have had varying degrees of success and interpretation, why should we come any closer? How does the fish come to dream of the mountain top? How does the being come to dream of nothingness? Following in the footsteps of the greatest Greek, Chinese and Indian philosophers, let us strive for an answer or lack thereof.
Keywords
Nothing, Nothingness, Non-Being, Metaphysics, Meontology, Buddhism
Recommended Citation
Sessions, Samuel O., "The Tetralemma of Nothingness" (2021). Honors Theses. Paper 1333.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/1333