Unamuno believes that longing for immortality is what motivates nearly all of human behavior. Unfortunately, in a world in which many people despair of ever achieving true personal immortality, we increasingly turn to what he calls mere “shadows of immortality” for comforting ideas about how our names, energy, or basic material substance will carry on in our absence. Unamuno advocates fighting against such despair, staying out of the shadows, and longing for personal immortality even when it seems impossible. Unamuno’s approach to this issue resembles, in a few significant ways, Kierkegaard’s struggle for the cultivation of subjective selfhood. At the same time, it also runs afoul of Nietzsche’s derisive claims about immortality-seekers. Whereas Nietzsche sees longing for immortality as a sign of being too weak to make the most of mortal life, the more Kierkegaardian Unamuno counters that it is a sign of strong appreciation for life to demand, without surrender, that there be more of it. Given the proper understanding of Nietzsche’s claims about the eternal recurrence, I think he and Unamuno might not be quite as far apart as it initially seems. However, exploring the latter’s critique of the former suggests an intriguing way of seeing the contemporary analytic debate about the desirability of immortality. Building on Unamuno’s position, one could argue that pessimism about the value of immortality is actually indicative of a flawed character and an impoverished relationship with life.

Unamuno认为，渴望永生是几乎所有人类行为的动力。不幸的是，在这个世界上，许多人绝望实现真正的个人不朽，我们越来越多地转向他所谓的“不朽的影子”，以安慰人们关于我们的名字，能量或基本物质将如何在我们缺席的情况下继续发展的想法。 。Unamuno提倡与这种绝望作斗争，躲在阴影下，并渴望即使在似乎不可能的情况下也可以永生不朽。乌纳穆诺（Unamuno）处理此问题的方法在许多重要方面类似于克尔凯郭尔（Kierkegaard）为培养主观自我而进行的斗争。同时，它也与尼采关于不朽寻求者的嘲弄性主张相抵触。尼采认为渴望永生是太虚弱无法充分利用凡间生命的标志，Kierkegaardian Unamuno越发反驳，这是对生命的强烈赞赏的标志，即在不投降的情况下，对生活的需求更多。考虑到对尼采关于永恒复发的主张的正确理解，我认为他和Unamuno的距离可能并不像最初看起来的那么遥远。但是，探究后者对前者的批评，提出了一种有趣的方式，可以看到有关永生性的当代分析辩论。以乌纳穆诺的立场为基础，有人可能会说，对永生价值的悲观态度实际上表明了品格缺陷和与生活的贫困关系。考虑到对尼采关于永恒复发的主张的正确理解，我认为他和Unamuno的距离可能并不像最初看起来的那么遥远。但是，探究后者对前者的批评，提出了一种有趣的方式，可以看到有关永生性的当代分析辩论。以乌纳穆诺的立场为基础，有人可能会说，对永生价值的悲观态度实际上表明了品格缺陷和与生活的贫困关系。考虑到对尼采关于永恒复发的主张的正确理解，我认为他和Unamuno的距离可能并不像最初看起来的那么遥远。但是，探究后者对前者的批评，提出了一种有趣的方式，可以看到有关永生性的当代分析辩论。以乌纳穆诺的立场为基础，人们可能会说，对永生价值的悲观态度实际上表明了品格缺陷和与生活的贫困关系。