Absurdity & Suicide
(Albert Camus)
Write your abstract here. Absurdity & Suicide in Albert Camus The Algerian French philosopher, Albert Camus was well known for his concept of the absurd which he defined as a ?confrontation between our demands for rationality and justice and the indifferent universe?. He explored the questions of responsibility, innocence and guilt of man in the face of overwhelming tragedy. Camus in ?Absurdity & Suicide? is concerned with what he calls a ?truly serious philosophical problem? of suicide. The condition of suicide amounts to confronting the question whether or not life is worth living. Camus tries to shift the focus of suicide from a social phenomenon to an individual one. His contention is that the act of committing suicide has its inception in man?s heart and society has little bearing in it. Camus argues that ?killing yourself amounts to confessing that life is unbearable and that there is no serious reason for staying alive?. Camus also emphasizes the point that the ?daily agitation? and ?monotony of life? can render life meaningless. Voluntary death is the recognition of the fact of ?uselessness of suffering?. Camus describes the idea of absurdity as the ?divorce between man and his life?. The absurd is also described as that which one might think to be amenable to reason, but which turns out to be beyond the ambit of rationality. Camus tries to establish a relationship between the absurd and suicide, where suicide can be seen as a solution to the absurd. Camus then points out the irony involved in the situation of absurdity- where saying ?no? to suicide could mean yes and that those who committed suicide were assured of the meaning of life? Camus then cites the instance of philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer who ?advocated the practice of suicide as a solution to absurdity? without practising it. According to Schopenhauer, the only lasting solution to our misery comes when people become so aware of the drudgery of existence, the wretchedness of life, of the misery of existing as ?futile manifestations of the cosmic will to live?, that they lose all will for existence. Further, Camus writes that our existence is something which is given to us before, the idea and habit of thinking has come to us. This idea was to become later on the motto of Existentialist philosophy, where ?existence precedes essence?. It also described the basic inevitability & absurdity of our existence. Life for him becomes a ?daily hastening towards death? which in effect is an acceptance of the absurdity of our existence. Camus? The Stranger depicts a protagonist who has accepted the absurdity of existence, ?opening up his heart to the benign indifference of the universe?. But Camus, like Sartre, also displays a deep appreciation of what can be called ?original guilt?, guilt that is inherent in our existence as human beings. However, Camus argues that it is because of some hope in life that man tries to elude or escape form suicide. Hope gives life some meaning and man is content enough to evade suicide. Camus then argues that absurdity of life is something which is given to us and the way to confront it is either through hope or through suicide! By citing German philosopher Karl Jaspers, one of the pillars of existentialism, Camus furthers his argument, ?that the self exists having no fixed nature and acting not only within the routine of everyday life, but sometimes unconditionally with the freedom amounting to the choice of itself?. Its condition is starkly revealed in ?limit-situations? of conflict, suffering, guilt etc requiring decisions perplexed by uncertainty & antimony. It is this point where many have committed suicide! Camus is eager to point out the fact that it is theconsciousness of the tragic condition which ultimately constitutes tragedy. The myth of the Greek mythological hero Sisyphus is tragic because he is conscious of his torment and suffering. Camus assures us that ?Sisyphus is happy in this condition of torment?, for he accepts his futile fate. This knowledge, that man has to accept his fate and ultimately death is essential to him for his existence!
Resumos Relacionados
- The Myth Of Sisyphus
- The Myth Of Sisyphus
- The Stranger
- The Stranger
- L'etranger- The Foreigner
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