Answer the following questions in full. Each one of these questions should elicit at least several complete sentences of thoughtful response from you.
1. We have discussed Camus' claim that life is absurd. What responses does he see as appropriate to this absurdity? What responses does he see as failing to "live with" the absurd? Do you agree with his claims? Explain.
2. Camus imagines Sisyphus happy with his eternal task. Can you make sense of this claim? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?
3. Do you believe that life is absurd? If you do, how would you argue for this claim? If not, how would you respond to Camus?
4. What is it about your life that resembles Sisyphus' plight? What is your relationship to your rock? Is the struggle itself enough for you?
This post will be due at the beginning of class on Monday, November 29th.
1. Camus responds to absurdity that Sisyphus is as much a hero because of his passions and his torment of the rock's fate. Without being able to live with the absurd things in life, one can not experience true happiness and joy. The passions of this earth accomplish nothing without accepting absurdity as what it is and the role it plays in one's life and fate. I agree with Camus in the aspect of not accepting all the facts and realities of life cause one to lead an unfulfilling life and therefore will never achieve true joy in life, but saying that "the passions of this earth" will "accomplish nothing" is wrong to say because passions are what one lives for and strives to achieve and without them, life is pointless (Camus, 1.)
ReplyDelete2. One cannot be happy without sorrow and grief. It parallels the absurd and happiness in this aspect. Without "the struggle itself toward the heights," life would seem pointless with no use for living but the hope and love of joy and happiness (Camus, 3.) But, with imagining Sisyphus happy, one is able to view reality as capable of seeking and discovering the true joys of human existence: hatred of death and passion for life, in Sisyphus's view.
3. No I do not believe that life is absurd because there are too many things that how that life leads to good and virtuous things. When one only focuses on the negatives of life, of course one would say life is absurd, but when one looks towards the positive side without ignoring the negative, one can see that life is full of vibrant things that yearn to stay happy and light. One should always seek the positive aspect of reality, otherwise, what is the point of life if only negative things arise from it? Without the pursuit of happiness and the burial of negatives, life will always end up to be just pushing a boulder up a mountain with no promise or hope of achievement.
4. I am always consider with pleasing others, especially my mom. She sets standards that are almost impossible for me to reach and usually end up causing me to fail and have my boulder roll back down the mountain as I chase to catch it before it its the bottom. Slowly I am learning to create my own standards that make it possible for me to reach the peak of the mountain and push the rock down the other side to begin a new challenge. Without a challenge life is boring. A composite of human nature is competition, with others or oneself. My challenge is set by myself, and learning this was one mountain in-and-of itself.
1. Albert Camus believes that everyone should revolt against this life of absurdity. Though we know the future, we continue to live our lives as though it is a mystery to us. Instead, Camus believes that we need to revolt against the lifestyles that we have created, and become individuals. People need to take chances and confront the absurd. It is the highest good to become authentic. Camus believes those who live life with practicality are failing to live the life of the absurd. It is important for us to be true to ourselves, and not to conform to the absurdities of society, such as religion and meaning. In my opinion, life should be lived in the way that makes you the most happy. If conforming with society and raising children makes you happy, than you aren't denying yourself of a full life. You should do what makes you happy, while at the same time respecting the happiness of others.
ReplyDelete2. Sisyphus' eternal task will be the same whether he likes it or not. In order to survive life, you have to find comfort in something. I believe Sisyphus may find happiness in within his task, because his task is all he knows. A life does not seem nearly as awful, if you have no knowledge of a different one. I think if Sisyphus knew of an alternative life, than his happiness would be shattered. Instead, he acknowledges his fate and makes the most of his situation.
3. I believe living life with the thought that it has no purpose is a rather pessimistic view. Instead of having a state of mind in which everything is all or nothing, I believe it is better to hope and live for something, even if you are unsure of it. I acknowledge that death will come, but I also have faith that their is something better than just living.
4. Sisyphus' life is a constant struggle, and I believe, to some extent, that every person is in the same situation. We all struggle to achieve something. In my life, I struggle to find happiness. I continue to push a rock so that I can achieve contentness with my life and myself. Sometimes I stumble and the rock slides down slightly, but I continue to strive for the top of the mountain. My struggle is my life, and it is all that I have. My life is enough, because the alternative is a dark one.
1. Camus' goal was to present the fact that happiness if fleeting and that the human condition is one of mortality. His point was not be morbid, but to get people to appreciate life and happiness and value these things without taking them for granted. He wanted us to realize that our life must have meaning for us to value it. Ultimately this was absurdity. I definitely agree with his claims because people do take their happiness for granted and just think that it's normal to be happy but this is not the case.
ReplyDelete2. Camus is basically saying that in order to be happy in life you must go through hardships and sad times. You cannot just be happy all the time; that is not how life works. You must keep happiness in mind in order to overcome your fears and sorrows.
3. Yes I believe that parts of absurdity are true, but not necessarily that life is absurd. I think people are constantly struggling to find the meaning of life every day, I know I am. I do not believe that humanity will ultimately fail though. So some of it may be true while other parts appear to be false to me.
4. I would say that I struggle to find happiness in my life. I guess I would also say that I haven't really found my rock yet so I am continuing to find that everyday. I think everyone struggles in life, and everyone's struggles are different and that is just normal.
1. Camus refers to absurdity as trying to find meaning in a meaningless world. He introduces the idea of dualism in his essay because he says people should live a happy life to the fullest, yet the life we live is mortal, and someday we will die. The absurd is trying to live a happy life, even if we know that it will end. However, he believes that the correct way to respond to this mortality is not suicide, but rather revolt. He says that we must never accept the absurd, but always question it. I would agree with his claims. We cannot know anything fully about the world, yet this does not mean we should stop questioning. We should continue our search to find meaning in this life.
ReplyDelete2. Sisyphus was condemned to an eternal task of pushing a stone up a mountain. Camus argues that because it is eternal, we must imagine that he is happy. Yet this thought is confusing; I would think that an eternity of repetition would drive one mad. However, I also see Camus’ point because he says that if Sisyphus acknowledges that it is both eternal and futile, he will live in acceptance and content. I partially agree with the fact that if you acknowledge there is no other option for you, it would be best to resign yourself to contentedness. However, I partially disagree because if I knew I had a repetitive and futile task I would live in a state of constant depression.
3. I do believe that life is absurd. We cannot know the world fully, and we must constantly search for the meaning. Yet in the same way, all life ends, and we are mortal. We must accept that we are going to die, and the meaning of life is futile. Personally, I would argue this claim using a more modern scenario. For example, I would use someone who performs a tedious task such as a factory or mill worker. By doing this, I would make the theory more relatable than an ancient Greek fable.
4.
My life resembles Sisyphus’ plight because I know that my life is mortal and will someday end, yet I have a repetitive life in which I try to find meaning. I go to school everyday and have gone since I was young. I have accepted that this is just the way things are, and because of it, I am content to go to class without questioning it. The rock is having to complete the absurd amount of homework and when I do that, teachers just pile on more. The struggle is not enough for me, the only thing that keeps me moving forward is the hope that someday it will change, and then my repetitiveness will no longer be eternal.