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Saturday, October 8, 2022

What is Absurdism in philosophy - short definition and explanation

Absurdism is a philosophical position that argues that life is essentially meaningless, that it is impossible to rationally explain why life exists, and that any attempt to unravel the essence of the universe is doomed to failure. This is not necessarily a bad thing since it liberates the human capacity to courageously live against its absurd existence. The concept of absurd is related to existential nihilism. 

According to absurdists, human suffering is the result of vain attempts by individuals to find reason or meaning in the absurd stream of existence. Absurdism as a theme of thought first appears in the writings of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, and its main proponent is Albert Camus.

 

Meaning of Absurdism for Kierkegaard

For Søren Kierkegaard the absurd (which appears for example in his Fear and Trembling) is the fact that we can never really know what we are to chose in life. The term for him is closely associated with Paradox. Kierkegaard writes in his Journals: 

"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 is to say where my reason and reflection say: you cannot act and yet here is where I have to act

 For an extended explanation see Kierkegaard's concept of absurd

 

Absurdism in Camus' Sisyphus 

For Albert Camus absurdism was exemplified by The Myth of Sisyphus who continues to push his rock up the hill even though it is bound to fall back again. The absurd of his action is what gives their lack of meaning over to human freedom. Camus does not want to argue that life is pointless. What he wishes is to be at peace with the idea that life has no real meaning and to live through it, pushing the rock up the hill.