11/2/2012 Responses to the Absurd

by Benny Mattis

Have you ever stepped back from what you were doing, stepped back from your day-to-day life, and wondered Why?  Have you ever found yourself at a loss for answers to this question?  Maybe you've come to the conclusion that your life is...absurd?

The Absurd is the manifestation of a tension between aspiration and reality; we take our lives seriously enough, but they may seem quixotic or downright futile when gazed upon by an outside observer.  Importantly, an outside observer is not even necessary for this effect, as we are more than capable of recognizing the absurdity of our own lives--for example, when you ask yourself "why" and find yourself at a loss.

Some philosophers think that the absurd is something to be avoided, some think it is something to be embraced, and some think it is simply another fact of life.  One's response to the absurd indubitably affects the way they view themselves and others, which in turn affects their actions.  This week, we will be examining two popular and influential responses to the absurd: that of Albert Camus, and that of Thomas Nagel.

Camus sees the absurd as a conflict between man (in the broadest sense), who has hopes, dreams, & aspirations, and the world, which is totally alien to man, ultimately incomprehensible, and indifferent to his survival.  Thus, the absurdity arises in man's attempts to find order or meaning in a meaningless world.  Nagel, on the other hand, sees the absurd as an internal conflict between two of man's own perspectives on himself--the perspective which takes life seriously, and the "backwards step" to a view on which such seriousness appears "gratuitous" in the face of its ultimate insignificance.  Which of these writers are more accurate in their account of the absurd as a phenomena?  Which of their responses are most effective in reconciling people with their absurd existences?  These are the things we will be discussing on Friday.

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A video of the meeting held on 11/2/2012 can be found here.  There were various responses to Camus' and Nagel's respective responses to the absurd.  A few of us agreed with Nagel's description of Camus' response as overly "dramatic."  A few people agreed with Nathan in dismissing the absurd as a "first world problem" that results primarily from a disconnect from the suffering of one's neighbors.  There were also doubts about the verity of the premise that life is, in fact, absurd.  Overall, the majority of those who attended on 11/2/2012 tended to sympathize with Nagel's conception of the absurd, as Camus seemed to be self-defeating, both in making claims about a supposedly unknowable world, and in failing to appreciate the absurdity of revolt itself.