Absurdism in the Modern World
I am not fully versed in the philosophical view. It did resonate with me over the state of current events in the United States. I will not go into specifics for safety and privacy reasons. Anyone who has been watching the news over the last two months, will understand my anxiety. What I am confused about is why more people aren’t going to trial. Instead, I will get philosophical.
The idea of Absurdism is to embrace the meaninglessness of existence and to accept it as a way of life. While existentialist focus on objectivity and purpose and nihilist reject meaning as irrelevant. These of course, are just generalizations of a lifetimes worth of thinking and belief. The absurdist viewpoint seems to make the most sense to me.
Imagine, you are a living being with a life span of a fraction of a second to the universe.
Everything you do and say will have been forgotten within four generations. A huge meteor could come racing from the heavens above and wipe us all out. Or one of our leaders could foolishly launch weapons of mass destruction. You are reading this on technology that you probably don’t understand if you had to try and make it yourself. Tomorrow you might not wake up.
And that is ok.
One of the beauties of the absurdist philosophy is that there is no need to find a meaning to life.
The chaos of existence has no meaning.
It is not the same as the nihilist viewpoint which is more about rejecting objectivity. I do think that there are consequences to our actions and thus we should follow some rule of conduct in the now. But in terms of the pursuit of anything as ordained by a higher power, I am incredulous.
This brings me to one of my favorite plays Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Originally written in French and published in 1952, it captures perfectly the heart of absurdist philosophy. There are two men who wait below a tree for Godot (pronounced God-O) and are bound to an endless cycle of random activities. The kicker is that everyday they reappear in the same spot to do it all over again.
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I was a really big fan of James Joyce’s Ulysses which on the surface also feels the same of characters doing mundane things over the course of a narrative. But there in lies the beauty. We aren’t not to look down or dehumanize these characters. They are us and we are them. Whether we like it or not this is what we have been given. I don’t want to go into too much detail about the play — go out and see it. An all-Irish cast version is available on YouTube.
Everything you do is valid because you give it meaning.
It is also why it is so important that we hold ourselves accountable. Thus, I may be more existential at heart. The point is to not think about it too hard. Enjoy that time you have and look out for those around you. We are all we have for each other. There may not be a tomorrow.
What are you doing today?
I felt that being productive writing, planning and investing were the right moves. I have started to feel the tug of time on my psyche. The years continue on and I don’t have as much as I used to. Sometimes I worry about not waking up and then I worry about waking up.
To be or not to be,
As of now, it is more fun to be. The current state of American politics worries me. The current geo-political shifts terrify me. Nothing has changed in terms of politics expect that people have more media outlets to express their opinions. The rate of censorship is not what the founding fathers would have wanted. All we can do is continue to try and live ours lives by a set of standards or not.
I do think that humanity will continue in high quality long after I am gone. I kind of chuckle at the thought of what they will put in the history books. It has been strange as a Millennial to start and realize that we are not popular anymore just another generation locked in the human cycle. I figure if I can take care of my health, I will be able to ride out another 50 years with a high quality of life.
I don’t think I have too many expectations out of my life. Most of my decisions come out of a desire to not take orders. It comes precisely from the absurdist mindset. I don’t like the hierarchy because everyone, including myself, is wrong. I do feel accomplished serving people. I do feel bad that I interact with so many people that I tend to forget them by the end of the year. You can’t get too attached to anything because life is in constant change.
There is a constant worry about what will happen once I got back to being self-employed. Will I still have the drive to find purpose? There is something comforting in having a schedule. Even if it means giving up independence. Humans want structure. And I as a human being am no different. Maybe I do want to take orders from a superior. Hopefully, a competent superior. What does that even mean superior and inferior? We are both in this existence together on equal terms.
Well, that is all I had for today’s post. Absurdism is certainly a word you can start to throw around at the next dinner party. I hope this article doesn’t make you want to quit your job. And if you do quit, I hope you find something better. You can’t take life too seriously because existence doesn’t play by the same rules as would like it to. Really there is only one thing we can do.
You can only sit back and laugh at the absurdity of it all.
