Absurdism: Your Guide to Navigating Chaos
The dangers of living in ignorance #51
Our lives are built on chaos. And this is the only reliable constant. That’s what absurdism is about. Life doesn’t have an objective meaning.
This philosophy is unique because instead of looking for an answer, absurdism declares that you can’t make sense of any of this, and that’s okay. Instead of feeling lost, it invites us to create our own meaning.
When I first heard about absurdism, I thought it’s gonna be a pessimistic idea and didn’t want to write about something this negative. Contrary to my expectations, it turned out to be a philosophy full of positive meaning and actionable advice on how to live a meaningful life.
Unlike nihilism which also doesn’t believe in an objective meaning of life, absurdism doesn’t give up on life. It helps you find your subjective purpose.
Albert Camus
Camus contributed greatly to the exploration of Absurdism after publishing The Myth of Sisyphus. He believed that even if the universe had meaning, it was still impossible to know for humans. He famously said: “I do not believe in God and I am not an atheist.”, highlighting that it’s impossible for us to prove god exists, but it’s also impossible to prove he doesn’t.
Camus defines human lives as absurd because of the conflict between man's desire for significance and the silent, cold universe. According to Camus, ignoring the incomprehensibility of life and instead engaging in human-made concepts restricts our freedom.
All social systems, be it religion, political structure, or communities fail to explain the genuine incomprehensibility of human life. However, their existence might make this existence more comfortable.
Kirkegaard believed in an interesting idea: we should take the leap of faith and accept the fact that we will be clueless about the world forever. We will never fully understand the world, we should believe instead.
Camus argues that we shouldn’t reject reason and ignore the facts of life. Instead, if we want to live fully, we should challenge the incomprehensibility of life: nothingness, morality, death etc.
“Man stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within him his longing for happiness and for reason. The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.”
- Albert Camus
The Myth of Sisyphus
Sisyphus is a guy condemned by the gods to repeatedly roll a rock up a hill for eternity. When he gets the rock to the peak, it rolls down again. Albert Camus explained absurdism using this myth. Sisyphus is a metaphor for our struggles against the absurdity of life. For Sisyphus, suicide is not an option, so the only way to rebel against the curse is to enjoy pushing that rock. The first step is realizing the absurdity of it all. There is no way out, so why not embrace the fact that it all doesn't make sense?
Camus argues that with this joyful acceptance of the struggle, the individual gains their identity.
Camus saw this myth as a great representation of humanity’s search for meaning in an indifferent universe that doesn’t care about us as much as we care about it. We hope. We believe. But still, we could be destroyed by an explosion of the sun at any moment.
Even if our daily, repetitive, and seemingly insignificant struggles may seem equally repetitive to the struggle of Sisyphus, we can still give them value by embracing them as meaningful.
Then what is a reasonable way to live?
Live the life of revolution
So all this talk about absurdity is interesting and terrifying, it makes sense, but what do I do now? What is my meaning?
Be a rebel, Camus says.
Absurdism has some actionable tips to help you live a more mindful life:
Live in constant revolution. Life is full of meaningless battles that you will lose. But they can become meaningful to you if you give them meaning.
Reject hope (eternal freedom) - we won’t be free one day. The heaven is on earth, we are free now. Embrace this freedom.
Live with a sense of passion for life. Live as much as possible rather than as good as possible. Seek diverse experiences. Revolt the absurd.
Just like Sisyphus embraced the absurd of his existence of pushing a rock up a hill for eternity, you can embrace your life too. Jean-Paul Sartre introduced the concept of “the absurd man”, as an example of a person who can live with the absurd:
“… He [the absurd man] stares at death with passionate attention and this fascination liberates him. He experiences the “divine irresponsibility” of the condemned man.”
Final thoughts
Absurd may seem like a pessimistic view at first. However, when you look deeper, it turns out to be a philosophy you can use to live a happier life.
It’s all about mindfulness and self-reflection. Instead of saying “Nothing matters!” and leaving you on that, absurdism offers a way to make sense of it. It tells you how to live with it. How to revolt against it. I like that.
I love the idea that we shouldn’t wait for anything and reject the idea of hope for the afterlife. Heaven is on earth, and you should enjoy it as much as you can, even if it doesn’t make sense in the grand scheme of things.
Sisyphus revolted against the gods, he was satisfied even with the worst punishment he could get, making the gods furious. Use this as a lesson. Revolt against the absurd by using your given freedom to enjoy it. Yes, life may be weird and meaningless, but nobody said this can’t coexist with fun and passion. Enjoy your absurd as much as you can, and make your own meaning.
Now I genuinely love absurdism.
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Whistling helps
I'm curious, is absurdism really about finding meaning? Or knowing there's no meaning anywhere and just be okay with that fact. Because seeking for meaning in no meaning seems like existentialism to me.