Human Life is Absurd
According to Albert Camus, human life is Absurd.
Absurdity here refers to the endless and unresolved tension between humans’ search for meaning and the world’s ‘unreasonable silence’ on this matter. We pray and hope for some divine voice from the sky to proclaim a great reason for our existence on this tiny speck of floating dust, only to face meaningless and senseless tragedies such as war, illness, and suffering – ultimately leading to death.
While the realization that there is no inherent significance to existence can be upsetting and even depressing (no sh*t), in his book the Myth of Sisyphus, Camus argues that the
“acceptance of absurdity of everything around us is one step, a necessary experience: it should not become a dead end. It arouses a revolt that can become fruitful.”
Albert Camus, Myth of Sisyphus
Dealing with Absurdity in Life
Throughout his writing, Camus considers all the possible ways one could respond to the Absurd: Suicide, Religious Faith, or Acceptance.
1. To Commit Suicide
Camus begins his essay by stating; “There is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.” Coming to the realisation of the possible meaninglessness of our lives, he understands why it would naturally lead anyone to this question: “Is my life worth living?” Although suicide seems to be the ultimate reaction to the Absurd, Camus advises that it is a cowardly and futile response, because quitting does not solve anything. It only makes us avoid confronting reality.
2. To Hold Religious Faith
Camus says that faith is another form of suicide – philosophical suicide. Religious faith offers a way to find meaning in the world, but he rejects it as another form of escapism. By being indoctrinated to a system and performing a leap of faith, one sidesteps the problem and suspends reason by believing in a meaning that lies outside the limits of rationality. This leads to Camus’s ‘impossibility principle’ – the notion that we can never attain truth on the ultimate meaning of life. Again, blind faith only makes us ‘run away’ from the problem, keeping us from working things out for ourselves.
This leaves us with the third response.
3. To Accept the Absurdity as It Is
Camus brings up the Greek legend about a king called Sisyphus who defied and tricked God multiple times with his cunning ways. When he was eventually captured, the Gods declared a punishment: he was chastened to push a boulder up a steep mountain. However hard he would push a rock up a mountain, upon reaching the top, the rock would roll down again, leaving Sisyphus to start over, making his punishment last for all eternity.
For the industrious Greeks, Sisyphus’s punishment was the ultimate torment, a meaningless task with no hope of completion. Similarly, humans so desperately seek meaning in this existence, just to be tormented by the universe’s inherent meaninglessness.
Sisyphus, eternal and wise, teaches us the relentless pursuit of knowledge, beyond our mortal limits, to grasp the mysterious and sublime. Alas, we too are captives of our own destiny, forever chained to the yearning for meaning, unable to break free from the chains of our own existence.
However, that is not the end of the story.
Although being burdened by this meaningless task and facing an uncaring universe, Camus claims that Sisyphus acknowledges and accepts the absurdity of his fate. This acceptance is crucial. As Camus’s Sisyphus descends the slope to retrieve his stone, he is not fraught with sorrow; instead, he finds tranquillity in his actions. Devoid of any alternatives due to his misfortune, Sisyphus rises against his circumstance by embracing its absurdity, shouldering his burden gleefully, and ascending once more. With this realization of the Absurd, he has found Joy. He is our Absurd Hero.
“I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one’s burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
Albert Camus, The myth of Sisyphus
Finding Meaning in A Meaningless Life
“The realization that life is absurd cannot be an end, but only a beginning.”
Albert Camus
What Camus is trying to teach us through his essay is that maybe instead of avoiding reality of the meaninglessness of life, we should come to terms with it. The understanding that this absurd life is all that we have can lead individuals to feel a sense of rebellion and fierce determination to not allow their circumstances defeat them. This pushes them to strive for a more fulfilling existence.
“One of the only coherent philosophical positions is thus revolt. It is a constant confrontation between man and his own obscurity. It is an insistence upon an impossible transparency. It challenges the world anew every second… It is not aspiration, for it is devoid of hope. That revolt is the certainty of a crushing fate, without the resignation that ought to accompany it.”
Albert Camus, The myth of Sisyphus
Now the ‘revolt’ Camus talks about isn’t radicalism. Instead, he advocates for a concept of ‘authentic rebellion’, the kind that comes with having the right spirit of acceptance, being resolute and stoic, and acknowledging that we are all in the same predicament.
To confront the absurdity of life, we must foster a sense of solidarity and appreciation for the dignity of others. As we confront the dark intimidating void with bold courage and a calm acceptance, the Revolt becomes a Revival.