Philosophy of the Absurd
Given my great love of the absurd, I cannot believe I wasn’t aware it had its own goddamn branch of philosophy. Absurdism.
For those of you who already knew about absurdism but failed to share this philosophic gem with me, I refuse to forgive you. This may seem unreasonable but as I now know, so is life.
The basic idea of Absurdism seems to be that life has no inherent meaning, but humans really, really want it to. Albert Camus is credited as the founder of Absurdism (even though he, in a paradoxically absurd act, denied being a philosopher). Like Nietzsche, he agreed that God is dead; like his Existentialist frenemy Sartre, he believed that life has no inherent purpose. So what’s a human to do? Camus suggests simply “embracing the Absurd”.
A Philosophy of Absurdism captures my feelings on life so exquisitely. I am constantly face-to-face with the irreconcilable absurdity of life (whether via a slap or a kiss). Everything we do ranges from the ridiculous to the wildly unreasonable, with a good percentage just unarguably frivolous. A few factual examples which exemplify the paradoxical absurdity of human life for all you doubters:
capitalism
cleaning (like Sisyphus, no matter how much you clean on a given day, the dust continues to accumulate, and you’re gonna have to roll that rock up the hill once again)
any and all reality TV
humans frantically trying to invent a way to pull carbon out of the air while simultaneously cutting down old growth forests which pull carbon out of the air
But of course, we rarely admit to this undercurrent of absurdity that runs through our lives. The first rule about Absurd Club is you don’t talk about Absurd Club.
Life is absurd! And what a goddamn relief.
Since “absurdity is an unsurpassable relationship between humans and their world” there’s really no point in trying to surpass it, is there? I find this incredibly relieving. If you’re feeling crushed by the expectations of the modern world, may this be your respite and mantra: life is absurd and what a goddamn relief. Just a few suggestions for the practical application of an absurdist view on life:
Fired/laid-off from your job? Life (and all its worldly trappings) are meaningless anyways. No one gets to keep their job in the end, and the boss who fired you will also someday die and thus lose their job (comforting).
Feeling unproductive? Find solace in the knowledge that your pursuit to complete a task is motivated by your desire for meaning, which is a human fiction. Might as well sit down and contemplate that over a glass of non-fiction wine.
Breakup? In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus—speaking on the intrinsic value of art—says the following: “Creating or not creating changes nothing.” I’m gonna go out on a limb and suggest that your relationship was probably less majestic than the Sistine Chapel, and that Camus would agree with the statement that “Dating or not dating changes nothing.”
General ennui? Excellent! It’s the sign of well-functioning mental faculties.
Trying to keep up with the Joneses? Rest easy in the confidence that the Joneses, too, suffer from a “longing for happiness and for reason” which the world cannot satisfy, no matter how many golden paper clips they own.
An argument over which is the best dessert: ice cream versus brownie, or cake versus pie? Let us be reminded that “there are truths but no truth.”
Rather than wallowing in self-pity at the absurdity of life, Camus suggests shaking a fist at it by insisting on living and enjoying today, despite it all having no point.
“
It was previously a question of finding out whether or not life had to have a meaning to be lived. It now becomes clear, on the contrary, that it will be lived all the better if it has no meaning.”
“Living is keeping the absurd alive.” I, for one, intend to follow in this great tradition.
