Warning: This essay perhaps seems a bit depressing at first, but
it's not that bad once you read into it. Feel free to comment on my
lesson if you have anything to say.
It's
philosophy time!
One of my favourite stories from Greek mythology is the myth of
Sisyphus, which has been outlined and popularized by writer Albert
Camus in his essay The Myth of Sisyphus. Here's some basic
information I'd like to share with you on this philosophical
matter!
Basic information
Title of essay: The Myth of Sisyphus
Author: Albert Camus
Date published: 1942
Literary
movement: Absurdist (which basically reflects on the
meaninglessness of life)
So what's so great about this essay?
Basically Al (that is, Albert Camus) asks us what the point of life
is, and if we should kill ourselves if life has no meaning. His
answer is no. He says that we should revolt, and find meaning
in the meaninglessness.
Here's
a breakdown…
Chapter
1: An Absurd Reasoning
Albert says that the only way we can discover the meaning of life
is by either a) taking a leap of faith in God or 2) coming to the
conclusion that life is meaningless. Al also asks the only
philosophical question which he thinks is most important: If we
conclude that life is meaningless, does that mean we should commit
suicide?
- Our lives are built on the hope of tomorrow, yet every day brings us closer to death
- True knowledge of the world is impossible
Al explains that once you accept that life is meaningless, you will become free to do whatever is in your passion.
Chapter
2: The Absurd Man
But wait, Al…you said that life is meaningless, so we should just
accept that and do whatever we want since it's meaningless anyway -
but where do the boundaries lie? We simply can't just do what we
please, especially if it is ethically wrong or if it hurts other
people.
Al presents 3 examples of the Absurd Man:
- Don Juan. He was a fictional character in literature who was a serial seducer - but lived life passionately and to the fullest.
- The actor. The actor depicts brief lives for brief fame. He explains that in 3 hours, an actor can show a character's entire lifetime.
- The conquerer. A warrior forgoes all promises of eternity, in order to fully engage and affect human history. He choose action over contemplation, realizing that nothing can last - and that no victory is final.
Chapter
3: Absurd Creation
"If the world were clear, art would not exist."
Here, Al explores the "absurd art" which is prevalent at the time.
He basically points out that "Absurdism" ultimately means losing
hope for meaning, faith or any explanations.
Absurd art to him is ephemeral. The absurd artist isn't trying to
make an important, lasting statement, nor is he wanting to give
answers to something. He's simply reflecting on the world as he
sees it.
Albert also makes note of Franz Kafka at the end of the book -
concluding that he's an existentialist, but chooses to make a leap
of faith rather than accept his absurd condition.
Chapter
4: The Myth of Sisyphus
Ah, my favourite part. In this chapter, Camus describes the ancient
Greek story. Here's the myth.
A
king named Sisyphus was punished by the gods for
imprisoning Death - for a short period time, everyone was immortal.
The gods put a stop to this and as a punishment, he was cursed to
roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again
everytime - and had to repeat this for eternity.
But Sisyphus keeps
doing this task, over and over again. It's only depressing when he
becomes conscious of his condition. Camus says
that because Sisyphus realizes the uselessness of his task, he
reaches acceptance and is satisfied with his life
of menial work. Can you imagine doing the same thing over and over
again the rest of your life? It would drive you crazy. But Camus
makes a good point in using that Sisyphus's meaningless, repetitive
work as a metaphor for modern lives spent working
at futile jobs in factories and offices.
"The workman of today works every day in his life at the same
tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is tragic only at
the rare moments when it becomes conscious."
Al ends his essay with these words:
"The
struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart.
One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
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Post Comments
lucyinthesky said – Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:38:17 -0000 ( Flag Edit Link )
Nice, May. That’s a great saying…and very true. Thanks for the response! I really like how Camus relates the myth of a guy pushing a rock up a hill to our daily lives. Just goes to show the power of a metaphor, right? Anyway, I think the whole point of this lesson was to show that it’s quite easy to get lost in life, and that there’s a way of dealing with it by accepting it. Philosophy can seem like nonsense sometimes, but hopefully this lesson was clear enough.