Everything about Absurdist totally explained
Absurdism is a
philosophy stating that the efforts of
humanity to find meaning in the
universe ultimately fail (and, hence, are absurd) because no such meaning exists, at least in relation to humanity. The word Absurd in this context doesn't mean "logically impossible", but rather "humanly impossible".
Absurdism is related to
existentialism and
nihilism and has its roots in the 19th century Danish philosopher,
Søren Kierkegaard. Absurdism as a belief system was born of the Existentialist movement when the French philosopher and writer
Albert Camus broke from that philosophical line of thought and published his manuscript
The Myth of Sisyphus. The aftermath of
World War II provided the social environment that stimulated absurdist views and allowed for their popular development, especially in the devastated country of
France.
Relationship with Existentialism and Nihilism
(Simplified) Relationship between Existentialism, Absurdism, and Nihilism>
|
Atheistic existentialism |
Theistic existentialism |
Absurdism |
Nihilism |
| 1. There is such a thing as "meaning" or "value" to be found in life |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| 2. There is inherent meaning in the universe (either intrinsic or from God) |
No |
Maybe, but humans must have faith to believe there is |
Maybe, but humans can never know it |
No |
| 3. Individuals can create meaning in life themselves |
Yes, it's essential that they do |
Yes, it's essential that they do |
Yes, but it isn't essential |
No, because there's no such meaning to create |
| 4. The pursuit of intrinsic or extrinsic meaning in the universe is a futile gesture |
Yes, and the pursuit itself is meaningless |
No, and the pursuit itself may have meaning |
Yes, but the pursuit itself may have meaning |
Yes, and the pursuit itself is meaningless |
| 5. The pursuit of constructed meaning is a futile gesture |
No, thus the goal of existentialism |
No, thus the goal of existentialism |
Maybe |
Yes |
|
Søren Kierkegaard
A century before
Camus, the 19th century Danish philosopher
Søren Kierkegaard wrote extensively on the absurdity of the world. In his journals, Kierkegaard writes about the Absurd:
What is the Absurd? It is, as may quite easily be seen, that I, a rational being, must act in a case where my reason, my powers of reflection, tell me: you can just as well do the one thing as the other, that's to say where my reason and reflection say: you can't act and yet here's where I've to act... The Absurd, or to act by virtue of the absurd, is to act upon faith ... I must act, but reflection has closed the road so I take one of the possibilities and say: This is what I do, I can't do otherwise because I'm brought to a standstill by my powers of reflection. |
An example that Kierkegaard uses is found in one of his famous works,
Fear and Trembling. In the story of
Abraham in the Book of
Genesis, Abraham was told by
God to
kill his son Isaac. Just as Abraham was about to kill him, an angel stopped Abraham from doing so. Kierkegaard believes that through virtue of the absurd, Abraham, defying all reason and ethical duties ("you can't act"), got back his son and reaffirmed his faith ("where I've to act"). However, it should be noted that in this particular case, the work was signed with the pseudonym
Johannes de Silentio.
Another instance of absurdist themes in Kierkegaard's work is found in
The Sickness Unto Death, which is signed by the pseudonym
Anti-Climacus. In his examination of the forms of despair, Kierkegaard examines the type of despair known as defiance. In the opening quote reproduced at the beginning of the article, Kierkegaard describes how such a man would endure such a defiance and identifies the three major traits of the Absurd Man, later discussed by Albert Camus: a rejection of escaping existence (suicide), a rejection of help from a higher power, and acceptance of his absurd (and despairing) condition.
Note well, that according to Kierkegaard in his autobiography
The Point of View of My Work as an Author, most of his pseudonymous writings are not necessarily reflective of his own opinions. Nevertheless, his work anticipated many absurdist themes and provided its theoretical background.
Albert Camus
Although the notion of the 'absurd' is pervasive in all of the literature of
Albert Camus,
The Myth of Sisyphus is his chief work on the subject. In it, Camus considers absurdity as a confrontation, an opposition, a conflict, or a "divorce" between two ideals. Specifically, he defines the human condition as absurd, as the confrontation between man's desire for significance/meaning/clarity and the silent, cold universe. He continues that there are specific human experiences that evoke notions of absurdity. Such a realization or encounter with the absurd leaves the individual with a choice:
suicide, a
leap of faith, or acceptance. He concludes that acceptance is the only defensible option.
For Camus, suicide is a "confession" that life is simply not worth living. It is a choice that implicitly declares that life is "too much." Suicide offers the most basic "way out" of absurdity, the immediate termination of the self and self's place in the universe.
The absurd encounter can also arouse a "leap of faith", a term derived from one of Kierkegaard's early pseudonyms,
Johannes de Silentio (but the term wasn't used by Kierkegaard himself), where one understands that there's more than the rational life (aesthetic or ethical). To take a "leap of faith", one must act with the "virtue of the absurd" (as
Johannes de Silentio put it), where a suspension of the ethical may need to exist. This isn't the dogmatic "faith" that we've come to know; Silentio would call that an "infinite resignation" and a false, cheap "faith". This faith has no expectations but is a flexible power propelled by the absurd. Camus considers the leap of faith as "philosophical suicide". Camus, like Kierkegaard, rejects both this and physical suicide.
Lastly, man can choose to embrace his own absurd condition. According to Camus, man's freedom, and the opportunity to give life meaning, lies in the acknowledgment and acceptance of absurdity. If the absurd experience is truly the realization that the universe is fundamentally devoid of absolutes, then we as individuals are truly free. "To live without appeal," as he puts it, is a philosophical move that begins to define absolutes and universals subjectively, rather than objectively. The freedom of man is, thus, established in man's natural ability and opportunity to create his own meaning and purpose, to decide himself. The individual becomes the most precious unit of the existence, as he represents a set of unique ideals that can be characterized as an entire universe by itself.
Camus states in
The Myth of Sisyphus: "Thus I draw from the absurd three consequences, which are my revolt, my freedom, and my passion. By the mere activity of consciousness I transform into a rule of life what was an invitation to death, and I refuse suicide."
The meaning of life
According to Absurdism, humans historically attempt to find
meaning in their lives. For some, traditionally, this search follows one of two paths: either concluding that life is meaningless and that what we've is the here-and-now; or filling the void with a purpose set forth by a
higher power, often a belief in
God or adherence to a
religion. However, even with a spiritual power as the answer to meaning, another question is posed: What is the purpose of God?
Kierkegaard believed that there's no human-comprehensible purpose of God, making faith in God absurd.
For some,
suicide is a solution when confronted with the futility of living a life devoid of all purpose, as it's only a means to quicken the resolution of one's ultimate fate. For
Albert Camus, in
The Myth of Sisyphus, suicide isn't a worthwhile solution because if life is veritably absurd, then it's even more absurd to counteract it; instead, we should engage in living and reconcile the fact that we live in a world without purpose.
For Camus, the beauty that people encounter in life makes it worth living. People may create meaning in their own lives, which may not be the
objective meaning of life but still provides something for which to strive. However, he insisted that one must always maintain an
ironic distance between this invented meaning and the
knowledge of the absurd lest the fictitious meaning take the place of the absurd.
Camus introduced the idea of "acceptance without resignation" and asked if man can "live without appeal", defining a "conscious revolt" against the avoidance of absurdity of the world. In a world devoid of higher meaning, or judicial afterlife, man becomes absolutely free. It is through this freedom that man can act either as a mystic (through appeal to some supernatural force) or an absurd hero (through a revolt against such hope). Henceforth, the absurd hero's refusal to hope becomes his singular ability to live in the present with passion.
Criticism
Logotherapy, often called the "third Viennese school of
psychotherapy," could be classified as an objection to absurdism. Logotherapy retains many existential conclusions, such as humanity's inherent responsibility for meaning. However, adherents to this school of thought would argue that there is, in fact, a purpose in man's ability to find meaning in an uncertain world. This is a rejection of Camus' belief that man-made meanings should never replace an acceptance of absurdity.
"
Five Characters in Search of an Exit", an episode of
The Twilight Zone, provides a counterpoint to absurdism: five seemingly random characters have woken up at different times in a seeming void, and a metaphorical search for the
meaning of life reveals that they're
dolls that have been collected for a charity drive.
Rod Serling concludes, "Just a barrel, a dark depository where are kept the counterfeit, make-believe pieces of plaster and cloth, wrought in the distorted image of human life. But this added, hopeful note: perhaps they're unloved only for the moment. In the arms of children there can be nothing but love." Thus, the characters' purpose was to love and be loved by the children whose lives that'll enhance.
Further Information
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