Absurdity of Existence
“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.”
Excerpt from: The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
This is how Albert Camus begins the ‘Myth of Sisyphus’: a philosophical essay that introduces his philosophy of the Absurd. Albert Camus (1913–1960) was a French philosopher, author, and journalist. He was also the proponent of the philosophical viewpoint of Absurdism; he also authored several books including ‘The Stranger’, ‘The Rebel’, and ‘The Plague.’ His works won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957 with the reason being “for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times²”.
Absurdism is a philosophy that revolves on the notion of the Absurd and how one should confront against it. The Absurd refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent meaning in life and the silent answer of the universe in which a harsh truth arises that is there is no inherent meaning in life. Existence is Absurd because of the conflicting views between humans and the universe. The Absurd comes from the conflict between expectations and reality, it is born from this confrontation.
In the ‘Myth of Sisyphus’, Camus’ establishes three paths one can take in confronting the harsh reality of existence; one is suicide, the other is philosophical suicide, and the last is rebellion. By killing yourself you cease existing, thus, ceasing yourself from suffering. You are unable to cope with this confrontation between expectation and reality, you fall into despair by the realisation that life is meaningless. “Killing yourself amounts to confessing. It is confessing that life is too much for you or that you do not understand it³.” Philosophical suicide is adhering to a constructed, fictionalised system of beliefs and ideas that serve to delude you from the banality and harsh truth of existence. Camus’ puts forth religion as being the clearest example of this path, as in a sense all religious people want to be cured of this notion of a meaningless existence. He also indicates that believing in God implies a sacrifice in intellect. The third path which he believes that people should take is the path of rebellion; a rebellion against the absurdity of existence. This revolt against existence is what gives life its value. By accepting and embracing the Absurd, you can then come to realise that the only way to cope with the reality of existence is to fight against it constantly for the rest of your life; not by deluding yourself into hopeful illusions as endowed through philosophical suicide and not by total acceptance which then engulfs you through suicide but by revolting and rebelling against this harsh truth.
This third path is embodied through Camus’ idea of the Absurd Hero. This person recognises the absurdity of existence yet chooses revolts against this conception and through that being able to defiantly enjoy life. Camus’ identifies three characteristics of an Absurd Hero: that are revolt (we must rebel against existence), freedom (we must be free to do as we please), and diversity (life must consist of a rich plethora of experiences and passions).
http://existentialcomics.com/comic/109
This conception of the Absurd Hero is embodied through the Greek myth of Sisyphus and the Meursault: the protagonist in his novel ‘The Stranger’. Sisyphus was a king who was punished for his trickery and betrayal against Zeus. He was banished for eternity to push a boulder against a steep hill only to see it fall down just before reaching the top. Camus’ puts forth the notion that one must imagine Sisyphus happy; as he has embraced his harsh reality and he might even approach this futile task with joy as this what gives his life meaning through the revolt that he endures against the absurdity of existence. Meursault also recognised the Absurd through instances of a feeling of nausea and disembodiment in the world; despite this, he embraced the passions and pleasures in life through the alluring views of the ocean and the sensual, carnal touches of his lover. Like Sisyphus, he too was punished for his misdeeds, yet he chooses to accept this and to embrace the harsh reality of existence.
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[1]: WikiArt. (n.d) The Persistence of Memory. https://www.wikiart.org/en/salvador-dali/the-persistence-of-memory-1931
[2]: Nobel Prize. (n.d) Albert Camus. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/
[3]: Albert Camus. (1942) The Myth of Sisyphus.
