Revolt+and+The+Meaning+of+Life

__Revolt and The Meaning of Life__

The world we live in is one of absurdity, human beings are trapped in this world with no chance of escape. Are only choices are to avoid the absurd through absolute faith or suicide. Albert Camus in his philosophy tells us that there is still a way to be happy and fulfilled in this world through revolt. We must revolt against the meaninglessness of our life and of our death that awaits. 

__The Absurd World__ //"absurdity arises from the confrontation between human need and the unreasonable silence of the world."-Myth of Sisyphus //

The absurd is created through a conflict between humans and the universe. Humans want clarity and rationality in a universe where it does not exist. We want to unify the world and have it be able to explain everything but we are left with no answers, no certainties. Through intellect humans because aware of the absurdity of the world, "If human awareness did not exist, the absurd would not exist, either" (Roth, 1999). The absurd not only exist in man or solely in the world but is their presence together. There is no dividing the two, the absurd cannot be taken out. With knowledge of the absurd comes an awareness of our own inevitable death. The absurd exiles us from a life of purpose and meaning and puts us into a life of despair and nothingness. What is the point of living when no matter what we do in life and how much we accomplish there is no hope for a futur

= __What should we do?__ = = = //"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy."-Myth of Sisyphus //

The main purpose of Camus philosophy is not in discovering the absurdity of the world but rather when we have knowledge of it what do we do next Is it possible for humans to live a happy and fulfilling life while having knowledge of the absurd? In addressing this phenomenon Camus believed that the reason individuals continue to live despite the meaningless of their life is by eluding the absurd. The two ways to elude death is through committing suicide or taking "the leap". Camus ask the question if suicide is the answer to the absurd. He answers that suicide is the confession that life is not worth living, and is a escape from the absurd. Camus argues the point that though it may seem that there are only two options to the absurd, life or death this is not true. He suggest that most do not commit suicide because the instinct for life is much stronger then the reasons for suicide. Camus claims that many existential philosophers generally try to evade the absurd through transcendence He describes this act of evading as taking the leap. Instead of trying to live with the irrationality of the absurd they explain it through faith and with God. Each one of them tries somehow resolve the conflict between human reason and an irrational universe in one way or another. When these philosophers such as Kirekgarrd, Chestov and Husserll try to evade the logic of the absurd they are committing philosophical suicide.



__Revolt__ //"I rebel therefore we exist."-The Rebel // The answer to what we should do in the absurd world is not to evade it by committing suicide or leaping into blind faith; but to revolt. To revolt against the meaninglessness of our life and of our death that awaits. Humans love of life is what leads them to defy the absurd. Though Camus believed that life was absurd he did not imply resignation to it. Revolting extends awareness of the whole experienced where humans are devoid of hope but without resignation. This act gives humans the only truth that they have in a illogical world and that's defiance. Fred H. Willhoite Jr. described Camus revolt as coming from his own experience with sickness. As a young man Camus faced the imminent possibility of his own death from tuberculosis and during his recovery he realized he loved life to much to ever give into death. He experienced a" fierce rebellion against such placid resignation" (Willhoite, 1961). What he learned from his experience was that life was very good, but when living overwhelms us we rebel against death and all death-bringers. We revolt in the name of life. Revolt is a central theme to many of Camus' works such as The Myth of Sisyphus and The Rebel. In the Myth of Sisyphus revolt is one of three consequences of living in the absurd world. The consequences are my revolt ,my passion and my freedom. To revolt is to live with the knowledge of the absurd and still find a meaning and happiness in it. In the Rebel the theme of revolt had a political meaning behind it. In this novel Camus instead of questioning what humans should do in the absurd; he examined murder. He wondered " if the absurd does not dictate suicide, does it legitimize murder?" ( Roth, 1999). Revolt is one of the most authentic responses to absurdity in humans and defiance is fundamentally social and communal. This means that absurdity effects everyone and robs them of their lives. A person should revolt not just for oneself but for justice and human solidarity.



__The Meaning of Life__

//<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18pt;">"We get into the habit of living before acquiring the habit of thinking. In that race which daily hastens us towards death, the body maintains its irreparable lead." // // -The Myth of Sisyphus //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">In Camus' work the Myth of Sisyphus he discusses the idea of the revolt of the flesh, where our mind wants to continue to live but our body is subjected to time. We come to the realization that we are controlled by time and time carries us to our end. The consequence of this is that we run into a problem with deciphering the meaning of our life. Humans go through their daily routine with little to no thought about their actions or why they do what they do."But one day the 'why' arises and everything begins in that weariness tinged with amazement."(Roth, 1999) we realize that our daily actions are nothing more than habits. No thought goes into our actions we realize that we are not free in our actions and we are nothing but drones.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The meaning and purpose of our lives used to come from hope, prior to knowledge of the absurd. In the past we depended on hope of another life and this hope gave our life meaning. Through hope we refused to face life and its lack of meaning. We don't think about our race with death ,we refuse to face death. But with the knowledge of the absurd come an awareness of our own inevitable death. The absurd exiles us from a life of purpose and meaning and puts us into a life of despair and nothingness. What is the point of living when no matter what we do in life and how much we accomplish there is no hope for a future. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 26pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">__Finding Meaning in Revolt__

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 200%;">" ////<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy. //// " The Myth of Sisyphus // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Revolting against your known fate is what gives life meaning. It gives value to life and restates the mystery of life that was taken away by the certainty of death. Camus believed that happiness could be found in nature and in everyday experiences that do not depend on a tomorrow. Nature provides us "joy so intense that speculation about or belief in other worldly life seemed irrelevant"(Willhoite, 1961). Happiness can be found as long as we do not delude ourselves by seeking transcended that gives us a false happiness. "existence will never satisfy us, life has meaning if we make it so by our determination." (Roth, 1999). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Revolt also gives humans a true form of freedom. Without having a hope for a future there is no longer pressure to fulfill roles that have been placed on us. Revolt allows us to have freedom to decide the direction in our lives and gives us a sense of control. We become free from the future and are allowed to think about the current experiences and take each moment as it comes. Before we have knowledge of the absurd we also don't have knowledge of what freedom really is.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">A new passion is also found with revolt. With a changed view of the meaning of life, what we value changes. If there is no purpose to what we do there is no reason to do one thing over another. The quality of life is no longer more important than the quantity of life. What counts in the absurd world is the amount of living. What matters is to live in the present and experience as many things as possible. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">media type="youtube" key="K5MdFdAe_JY?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 26pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">__Criticism of Camus__

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Albert Camus has been criticized for the inherit dualism that arises in his philosophy. If the world and everything in it is absurd then how can Camus himself be logical enough to know this. This is the criticism Gabriel Marcel in his essay Man against Mass Society had against Camus' work The Myth of Sisyphus. He did not even considered Camus a philosopher nor even an individual that exhibited philosophical thought .If he was a philosopher he would be able to realize the dualism he created with claiming an absurd world and putting himself in it. If the world is absurd there are two possibilities that cannot be ignored. One is that the individual must not belong to the world under discussion and if so wouldn't it be so that they are not qualified to judge its value. Or if I am a part of this world, and if the world is absurd then I too must be absurd. There are problems with both of these possibilities that lead to destructive contradictions. If the person is absurd, then their judgments must also be absurd, which makes Camus' philosophy not valid. The second option leads to the formation of a dualism where a person is both absurd and logical. Because of the inconsistencies of his philosophy nothing can be derived from it including a suggestion for how humans should live in the absurd world. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Herbert Hochberg also criticized Camus for the dualism in his philosophy and how he derives meaning in the absurd world. He claims that there is a paradox in Camus philosophy because he claims that there can be meaningful experiences in a meaningless world. He explains how the motive of an advocate of a transcendent absolute is to give point or purpose and value to the world and life. But at the same time he "depreciates the world of ordinary experiences in virtue of its insignificance when compared to its source" (Hochberg, 1965). By giving value to the world and life it minimizes the value of both. Camus only holds value in one, the world and not the other in transcendence. Because he only values the world he somehow tries to give it an intrinsic value. By his rejection of transcendence he forgoes giving the world value in the sense of purpose or meaning. The world will ultimately be "with value and meaning and without value and meaning" (Hochberg, 1965).This is the contradiction that Camus eventually will face when he tries to give meaning to life in the absurd world.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">One can imagine that if Camus had the opportunity to respond to these criticisms that he would point out that a person living in the absurd world doesn't necessarily mean that they are illogical also. He would argue that that it is through intelligence and awareness that humans break away from being illogical that is caused by the absurd world. It is through human logical that they are able to judge that the world is absurd without being absurd themselves. Also that value can be found in the world without the idea of transcendence. Value is found in everyday experiences and does not rely on the promise of a tomorrow or transcendence. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">media type="youtube" key="udk0vRXGLlA?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">References <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 24.75pt; vertical-align: top;">Hochber, H. (1965). Albert Camus and the Ethic of Absurdity. Ethics, 75(2), 87-102. Retrieved December 10, 2010, from the JSTOR database.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 24.75pt; vertical-align: top;">Marcel, G. (1978). Man against mass society. South Bend, Ind.: Gateway Editions.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 24.75pt; vertical-align: top;">Roth, J. (1999). Great Thinkers of the Western World. New York: Harper Collins.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 24.75pt; vertical-align: top;">Willhoite, F. (1961). Albert Camus' Politics of Rebellion. The Western Political Quarterly, 14(2), 400-414. Retrieved December 10, 2010, from the JSTOR database.