Sub specie aeternitatis

Sub specie aeternitatis

"Sub specie aeternitatis", from the "Philosophical Dictionary", ["Philosophical Dictionary", http://www.philosophypages.com/dy/s9.htm] Latin for "under the aspect of eternity"; hence, from Spinoza onwards, an honorific expression describing what is universally and eternally true, without any reference to or dependence upon the merely temporal portions of reality.

In clearer English, "sub specie aeternitatis" roughly means "from the perspective of the eternal". Even more loosely, the phrase is used to describe an alternate or objective point of view.

Usage

Michael Martin, in "Atheism: A Philosophical Justification", wrote:

Unlike animals and inanimate things we can transcend our own limited perspective and see our lives "sub specie aeternitatis". From this perspective, Nagel says, all we do appears to be arbitrary.
What Michael Martin is conveying is that
From the objective perspective, what we humans do on a day-to-day basis seems meaningless.
Or even further, since we humans are capable of looking at our own actions "from an outsider's viewpoint", we can see that our own, individual actions are arbitrary. ["Atheism: A Philosophical Justification". Michael Martin. Temple University, 1990. Pg. 19-20.]

Viktor E. Frankl, in "Man's Search for Meaning", wrote:

It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future—-sub specie aeternitatis. ["Man's Search for Meaning". Viktor E. Frankl. 1946. pg 94.]

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • sub specie aeternitatis — sub spe|cie ae|ter|ni|ta|tis 〈[ spe:tsje: ɛtɛr ]〉 1. im Lichte der Ewigkeit 2. unter der Voraussetzung unbeschränkter Dauer [lat., „unter dem Anschein der Ewigkeit“] * * * Sub specie aeternitatis   Der niederländische Philosoph Baruch de Spinoza… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Sub specie aeternitatis — крылатое латинское выражение, которое означает «с точки зрения вечности». Согласно Бенедикту Спинозе данное выражение описывает универсальную и вечную истину, вне зависимости от текущей действительности. Бертран Рассел, рассматривая философию… …   Википедия

  • sub specie aeternitatis — [sub spē′shi ē΄ ē tʉr΄ni tā′tis] adv. 〚L, lit., under the aspect of eternity〛 from the standpoint of eternity; from a universal perspective * * * …   Universalium

  • sub specie aeternitatis — [sub spē′shi ē΄ ē tʉr΄ni tā′tis] adv. [L, lit., under the aspect of eternity] from the standpoint of eternity; from a universal perspective …   English World dictionary

  • sub specie aeternitatis — лат. (суб спэциэ этэрнитатис) с точки зрения вечности. Толковый словарь иностранных слов Л. П. Крысина. М: Русский язык, 1998 …   Словарь иностранных слов русского языка

  • Sub specie aeternitatis — Der lateinische Ausdruck sub specie aeternitatis bedeutet auf deutsch unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Ewigkeit. Er wird meistens in der religiösen Literatur in dem Sinne gebraucht, dass man sein Denken und Handeln nicht auf das vergängliche Diesseits …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • sub specie aeternitatis — sub spe|cie ae|ter|ni|ta|tis 〈[ spe:tsje: ]〉 1. im Lichte der Ewigkeit 2. unter der Voraussetzung unbeschränkter Dauer [Etym.: lat., »unter dem Anschein der Ewigkeit«] …   Lexikalische Deutsches Wörterbuch

  • sub specie aeternitatis — sub spe|cie ae|ter|ni|ta|tis [ spe:tsi̯ə ɛtɛr...] <lat. > unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Ewigkeit …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • sub specie aeternitatis — adverb Etymology: New Latin, literally, under the aspect of eternity Date: 1895 in its essential or universal form or nature …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • sub specie aeternitatis — [sʌb spi:ʃi: ɪˌtə:nɪ tα:tɪs] adverb literary viewed in relation to the eternal. Origin L., lit. under the aspect of eternity …   English new terms dictionary

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