" By imagining Sisyphus happy, it then becomes possible to find our own happiness in no matter what situation. Camus begins his argument with a powerful statement about suicide, noting that it is the most important of all philosophical problems. The question of suicide cuts to the core of whether life has any meaning. If life has no meaning then it only makes sense to end the life, and seek meaning elsewhere. Camus claims that accepting absurdity negates the function of suicide, and renders suicide itself an absurdity. To commit suicide is no different than perpetuating blind and useless faith in an abstract God. Both acts entail surrendering the personal will. Suicide and blind faith both deny personal responsibility and instead project and expect meanings onto...
Camus' argument is self-empowering. Instead of having faith or hope, holding out for the revelation of true meaning, the individual has the opportunity to reach enlightenment in the present moment. Imagining Sisyphus happy is a bold mental step, and can be a paradigm shift. Taking personal responsibility means transforming one's perspective by embracing the absurd.
Yet, even Tarrou must fall to the plague inevitably. Camus as much as says that while Tarrou's ideals may be beautiful, they are not ultimately the truth: there is no moksha for Tarrou -- only death. Does absurdism expect that one's best course of action is to interact with life at a slight remove -- as Rieux does? No definite answer can be given. Cottard, however, is definitely not the
life is an issue that has been plaguing thoughtful people since the first Cro-magnons evolved into modern homo sapiens with the power to think rationally and creatively, and most importantly, self-consciously. Aside from humorous attempts to explain the meaning of life such as Monty Python's movie The Meaning of Life, the question is a serious one. It cuts to the core of every human life, causing the individual to
Heidiegger Camus Martin Heidegger's "Being and Time" addresses both of these complex philosophical concepts, being and time. Being means existence, or the fact that something can exist. Heidegger approaches the concept of being from multiple perspectives. Being is the quality of existence, or the fact that something exists. Does this mean the opposite of Being is Nothingness? What does Heidegger say about anti-matter? Heidegger also probes the force that causes a
The absurdity in Monty Python comedy sketches seem like a philosophical cousin to Albert Camus. Likewise, Camus is like a distant relative of Buddha. Buddhism asks the individual to cease striving and desiring everything and anything -- including enlightenment itself. Life is suffering, says the Buddha, a concept that clearly reflects the punishment of Sisyphus. The root cause of suffering is not in the punishment, though, it is the desire
1998). This is the context that favors ultimate questions by the very nature of our lives. Meaning can be constructed by making a choice in such absurd situation. Meursault's act of murder can be interpreted as an act of courage, a provocation he addressed to death and to uncertainty. Furthermore, extreme situations make hiding impossible and are considered a way of clarifying motives and drives. The existentialist theme of
We are engaged in what happened then. We are the same ones who were involved in the action; the memory brings us back as acting and experiencing there and then. Without memory and the displacement it brings we would not be fully actualized as selves and as human beings, for good and for ill (71). Jacek is very clearly stuck in a place in his mind where he believes that
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