According to the objective view we are collections of atoms randomly put together and existing for a short while in a certain formation in a tiny insignificant part of the universe. Yet from a subjective point of view we are the most important things in the world - we care passionately about what happens to us, what people think about us etc. It is this enormous gap between how important we think we are and how important we are from a more global perspective that makes Nagel say our lives are absurd. According to Nagel, this still be very significant if God existed. Tolstoy's Confession At the height of his literary fame Tolstoy seriously contemplated suicide.
Death destroys e verything.
Anyone who thinks about life must regard it as futile. Faith is the only escape. It gives infinite point to our otherwise pointless existence. The suggestion is that it is a logical mistake to think that there must be one thing that gives meaning to all lives. What we should be doing is finding our own meaning to life.