Introduction

Absurdism is a philosophy conceived by Albert Camus that describes people’s conflict with the Absurd: it is demonstrated by human’s desire for a purpose that the universe doesn’t offer and conceptualizes outlooks on existence. Definitions of the Absurd compare two conflicting phenomena such as the practical desire for some reason to live and the world’s arbitrariness. The universe is inherently absent of meaning; yet, people unavoidably desire to ascribe to reason which, results in existential feelings of crisis. Camus, an absurdist philosopher, and author argued that the universe’s lack of inherent meaning manifests in people’s paradoxical reactions of escaping existence's absurdity; or, rebelling against it: to live despite the absurd. This perspective can offer relief from the existential crisis that realization of the Absurd can cause; however, society is constrictive because self-determinism is restricted in the uncertain reality modern generations grow into.

II: Albert Camus and Traditional Absurdism 

Albert Camus was a French philosopher and author who is credited with actualizing the theory of Absurdism. Camus's essay The Myth of Sisyphus, published in 1942, outlines the Absurd: the universe is not reasonable; but, where absurdity exists is in human’s paradoxical attempt to synthesize the world’s irrationality into definable paths. Absurdism describes the human condition and life in general as Absurd. Traditional absurdists like Camus believed that the absurd was both an internal and external conflict because absurd rationalization depends on people’s relationship with the world as consciousness links people to reality.  Therefore, Camus’s absurdity has “metaphysical and epistemological aspects” (Aken 2021). The Absurd centralized around the epistemological problem: humans are unable to rationalize the universe since it is arbitrary which shows the limits of reason. The metaphysical property of the Absurd reveals how human reason, used to formulate consciousness, cannot represent a universe incapable of offering any. 

Camus used the Greek myth of Sisyphus as a parable for the absurdity of life. Sisyphus was condemned to push the same boulder up the same hill each day, for all eternity; yet, despite this inherent absurdity and Sisphys’s awareness of his condition, he was happy. His work exemplifies the three traditional reactions of people when they become conscious of the Absurd: suicide, religion, and rebellion. Camus rejected suicide and religion as options because he saw them as physical and mental suicide and as escapes from the Absurd. It is because Sisyphus lived on in the face of absurdity and “refuse[d] suicide”: that he was able to “draw from the absurd… [his] revolt… freedom…  passion” (Camus 62). by, firstly accepting absurdity, then deciding on a motivation to be, Sisyphus became an “‘absurd hero’” (Aken 2021). To combat the existential crisis that Absurdism causes, it promotes letting go of illusions of meaning to enable facing the realities of life which emphasize the lived experience and empowers people to make the best out of it. 

III. Absurdist philosophy over time

Absurdism originated from the Existentialist movement because of Camus. His philosophy was able to spread (especially in his home country of France) because the aftermath of WWII created a generation born in crisis. An existentialist philosopher, Kierkegaard, wrote about the Absurd in the 19th century. In The Sickness, Unto Death Kierkegaard described “the three major traits of the Absurd man”: rejecting suicide,  rejecting religion, and “acceptance of his absurd … condition” which, gave Camus his theories background (New World Encyclopedia). Both philosophers concluded that the first two values should be rejected: Kierkegaard because he believed there is no “purpose of God, making faith in God absurd” and, Camus because it would be “even more absurd to counteract” life than living it (New World Encyclopedia). Beyond the three reactions to the Absurd traditional absurdist outlined, more modern ones have developed such as using irony to cope. 

More recent theories on Absurdism describe the conflict of the absurd as an internal problem instead of being both internal and external as traditional absurdists believed. If the absurd was a part of human nature, it would exist in any possible world, even one made by intelligent design. Instead of the Absurd existence in humans’ relation to their environment, external conditions wouldn’t affect the reality of the absurd existence because consciousness would always lead individuals to question. 

Absurdists concluded that people seek out meaning in their lives by either deciding life is meaningless or, by trying to provide a purpose for life. The latter option is believed by existentialists while the former is mostly held by nihilists. The rising world population and greater access to quality education have led to a larger, more free-thinking global society than in previous years. This fact indicates that more people will be desiring self-defiable motivations for life and could be at risk of undergoing an existential crisis. 

IV: Absuridum, Existentialism, and Nihilism

Although Absurdism was inspired by and developed alongside the movements of existentialism and nihilism, it ultimately came to a unique conclusion. All three schools of thought seek to explain human’s experience with existence and its conflict: despite the inherent meaninglessness of the world, people desire meaning. The schools are separated by their different conceptions of seeking meaning. Existentialists encourage people to discover their own meaning in life. In contrast, nihilists believe there is no meaning in life to be found. Absurdists agree with nihilists that there is no meaning to life; however, absurdists identify the grander conclusion that in a conflict: humans will seek purpose and the world providing none, as the root of inner turmoil. Absurdists and Existentialists seek to resolve the problem of Nihilism's lack of objective meaning as its absence creates a void to be filled. 

Jean-Paul Sartre, the philosopher who coined the term Existentialism wrote in Existentialism is a Humanism: “man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself” meaning that people’s existence is defined by their actions (Satre 3). Therefore, the Existentialist response to Nihilism is that people must create “meaning through… actions” (Cussen, 2021). Thus, it can be surmised that if individuals are limited in the possibility of doing and becoming something, their existence is limited. 

Absurdists firstly responded to the problem of Nihilism by addressing how suicide was a logical dilemma surmised from it. In the iconic lines of The Myth of Sisyphus: there is “only one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide” (Camus 11). Suicide was the first option to cope with the tension of the Absurd, but this was unsatisfactory to Camus because death would parallel the lack of meaning in life. The second option, “The Leap of Faith” describes conforming to an ideology based on faith, which provides a set meaning. Kerigaurd promoted this option however Camus later rejected it because it separates individuals from the reasonability of their own consciousness, which he considered to be “philosophical suicide” (Cussen, 2021). Thus the third option of rebelling against the Absurd isn’t an “escape from the Absurd '' or from life but, living by embracing the absurd condition (Cussen, 2021)). Camus saw this as the one way to achieve freedom despite an unfree world, devoid of absoluteness. By recognizing the universe and absolute truths through a subjective perspective instead of an objective one: individuals are able to define their own using free will. It is on this basis that many people argue in favor of absurdism: because the irrationality of an ultimate purpose or fulfillment is traded for that which gives one motivation at the moment, regardless of its scale. This conclusion liberates people and allows humans to find freedom in unfreedom like Sisyphus. 

V. Existential Crisis and Mental Illness

The paradoxical conflict between life and meaning can trigger existential crises. Existential crises result when individuals question the “foundations of their life: whether life has any meaning, purpose, or value” but what people commonly refer to as the crisis is essential “contemplation of Camus’s philosophy… mostly of the absurd” (Bennett 1-2). Thus, Camus's philosophy addresses the central problems of Existentialism and is the conflict popular culture refers to in forming existential crisis. The mental instability that conflict of uncertainty results in can mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and suicide which modern generations have higher degrees of. 

Especially among youths, depression and suicide rates have risen possibly because young people have a higher hyper-awareness of self and society, due to higher qualities of education and the globalization fostered by technology and communication. The United States surgeon general described how “the pandemic intensified mental health issues” that were preexisting which, the “51 percent” rise in “suicide attempts… for adolescent girls” in 2021 compared to 2019 demonstrates (Richtel, 2021). More people are choosing to deal with the tension meaninglessness and uncertainty can bring by choosing Camus's reaction of suicide instead of the preferred option of living despite it. The rise in mental health crisis among youth hint at how it is affecting society at large: “Globally, symptoms of anxiety and depression doubled during the pandemic” (Richtel, 2021). In more developed countries media contributes to mental illness as it makes people question life by exposing them to dismal conditions such as climate change, inequality, and suffering. All of these contribute to a lack of hope and an awareness of the uncertainty of the future and reality. 

VI. Societal conditions that worsen mental instability and how to use philosophy to cope

Just as existential crises fuel mental illnesses, those who suffer from mental disorders are more prone to existential thoughts creating a self-perpetuating cycle. Camus’s final solution on how to live with the Absurd did not seek to escape the inevitable and directed people to live freely despite it; however, the instability of modern society hinders individual possibilism.

Similarly, the Age of Fear that characterized post WWII society allowed for absurdism to spread, and modern conditions such as the CoVid-19 pandemic, climate change, and inequality have created a generation prone to existential thoughts. In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children's Hospital Association declared a “‘national emergency’ in youth mental health” showing how mental illness is increasingly an issue for younger people (Richtel, 2021). 

In more developed countries the idea of success is indoctrinated onto adolescents and stresses them to find a purpose to build their lives off of before they have formulated their own conceptions of the world. There’s this consensus that present actions determine the course of our lives which is true to an extent to get into college, a job, and then gamble for success, it's inevitable to search for the why of it all. By viewing these conditions through and through an absurdist lens; people are faced with two options of how to live: they can accept the absurd and give up or rebel against it. Instead of passivity or searching for the ultimate meaning of life: hindering living by free will; to rebel against absurdism people must determine their own meaning, devoid of any supposed answers. So that people could retain their freedom and passion like Sisyphus. 

To avoid a negative relationship between Absurdism and meaninglessness people can change the way they feel about those concepts if they are unable to stop believing them. One way to do this was illustrated by @abrahampiper on TikTok: “Our host [the universe]” is indifferent and inherently holds no expectations for life “And this is what gives us the freedom to feel our own meaning” (@abrahampiper, 2021). Therefore, to cope with the realization of the Absurd, people should also realize that they have the power of free will and self-actualization in order to find a reason to keep going. This view means that the expectations of society aren’t meaningful; theoretically resolving peoples’ conflict with external factors in directing their consciousness. However, practically; recognizing the realization that external expectations are not what gives life meaning, does not hinder people from following the expectations of society. This absurd inner turmoil depicts peoples’ inability to stop things from mattering to them in relation to understanding how nothing actually matters. This is why more modern concepts of Absurdism describe the Absurd as the internal conflict between two opposing ideas. It contrasts with traditional absurdist belief in the Absurd being both an internal and external conflict. @abrahampiper also argued that meaning can be so challenging to find because it isn’t meant to be found but observed.

 In The Myth of Sisyphus, he was able to keep living despite the futility of his predicament by creating new motivations like observing the nature around him or pushing the rock up faster each time. Camus meant to symbolize to his readers how passion, resolve, and will be how Sisyphus was able to live in the face of absurdity by deciding what would motivate him to live presently. Therefore, Camus emphasizes how freedom is enabled by absurdity by individuals’ reasonability. No matter how trivial accepting, growing, and pursuing whatever thing people care about right now creates a temporary purpose because meaning does not inherently take scale. Nothing is definitive except that the world is Absurd, all other conceptions of meaning can be subjective and self-determined. By deciding to seek motivation instead of answers, people can prevail in spite of Absurdity, to live and be free. 

Works Cited 

“Absurdism.” New World Encyclopedia, newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Absurdism. 1 June, 2022

@abrahampiper. “Tiktok post.” Tiktok. 3 Mar. 2021, tiktok.com/t/ZTdvc8YPA/?k=1 2 June, 2022

Bennett, Michael Y. “Camus's Unbeknownst Legacy: Or, ‘I'm Having an Existential Crisis!".” SpringerLink, Palgrave Macmillan US, 1 Jan. 1970, link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137309471_5. 2 June, 2022

Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus. Penguin, 2011.

Cussen, James. “Nihilism vs. Existentialism vs. Absurdism.” The Living Philosophy, 28 Nov. 2021, thelivingphilosophy.com/nihilism-vs-existentialism-vs-absurdism/. 29 May, 2022

Richtel, Matt. “Surgeon General Warns of Youth Mental Health Crisis.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Dec. 2021, nytimes.com/2021/12/07/science/pandemic-adolescents-depression-anxiety.html. 1 June, 2022

Sartre, John-Paul. “‘Existentialism Is a Humanism.’” 1946. Homepages.wmich.edu/~Baldner/Existentialism.pdf. Accessed 3 June, 2022

Van Akin, Erik. “Camus on the Absurd: The Myth of Sisyphus.” 1000 Word Philosophy , 9 May 2021, 1000wordphilosophy.com/2019/05/01/camus-on-the-absurd-the-myth-of-sisyphus/. 28 May, 2022