Absurdity: The Myth of Sisyphus Essay

Thomas Nagel states that human beings have a “natural expression” for the sense that life is absurd (Nagel 29). In his essay, simply titled “The Absurd”, Nagel argues that this natural presumption is true, but not for the reasons commonly given: the smallness and brevity of our lives. Instead, our lives are absurd because they feature an inevitable conflict between our feeling that life lacks justification and our inability to disengage with life despite this feeling. I argue that Nagel mistakenly includes awareness in his philosophical definition of absurdity. Nonetheless, his essay is an insightful read about the nature of human life.

Developing a meaningful purpose in life, is a very strong driving force that can often be underestimated. Without a purpose, living can easily become mere existence.

As humans, it’s in our nature to look for the meaning in our lives. Our minds are very complex and allow us the gift but also the despair of contemplating our existence and purpose in this world. Nowadays, it’s common for us to go on journeys to find the purpose of one’s life and to discover themselves and find direction for their future. In the article “Authentic purpose: the spiritual infrastructure of life” by Corey L.M. Keyes, Keyes explores the reason on why finding a purpose has become so key to one’s health and the different ways that we find purpose in our lives.

In 1971, Thomas Nagel wrote a paper titled ‘The Absurd.’ He argues that the nous of the absurd arises from two belligerent propensities in us: the first is explained as, ‘we take our lives’, or at slightest the ventures we take on in our lives, and that we cannot circumvent. In addition, the second propensity is that we are capable, upon undermining or reflecting, the explanations for any of our ventures in life. Furthermore, from a radical point of view outside people’s interests nothing can be justified; however we are skilled enough in taking up such a perspective reflection. What more can be said is that this absurdity is an ailment we are predestined to by virtue of our reflective nature. Though in general understanding to the idea,

With everything going on with the upcoming presidential election, the political community has been very prominent in society the past several months. While doing research on myths, I came across The Myth of Sisyphus and immediately made many connections between the two subjects. Both of these topics have a lot to do with manipulation and deception. With politics especially, people today have a lot of opinions on the dynamics of that community. They both deal with continuous repetition and constantly giving your all to make accomplish a task. What is interesting though is exactly to what extent can The Myth of Sisyphus be related to our modern day political community?

1). Phil’s scenario is similar to Sisyphus’ because they are both stuck in a situation where they have to repeat doing the same thing over and over. For example, Phil keeps reliving Groundhog Day while Sisyphus has to roll a rock up a hill for eternity. Another example of how Phil’s and Sisyphus’ scenarios are similar is how they got themselves into repeating the same day over. Phil was rude to people and did not enjoy the little aspects of life during his stay and news casting in Punxsutawney for Groundhog Day. Unlike Phil, Sisyphus created many crimes that the gods did not appreciate. Phil’s scenario is different from Sisyphus’ because Phil got to change the way he wanted to act and the things he wanted to do. For example, after he realized that he was going to keep reliving Groundhog’s Day, he decided to take advantage of the situation. On one of the days Phil decided to drive foolishly around town with two drunks that he met at a bar and ends up in jail. Since he is reliving the same day many times, he decides to steal money from the money truck. Sisyphus however just gets stuck with continuously rolling the rock up the hill and he has to deal with his “hour of consciousness”.

Nagel contends that life is absurd by virtue of a collision, “between the seriousness with which we take our lives and the perpetual possibility of regarding everything about which we are serious as arbitrary, or open to doubt.” (Nagel, 718) We have the ability to step back and view ourselves and the lives we are living, “with that detach amazement which comes from watching an ant struggle up a heap of sand.” (Nagel, 720) We can briefly expel ourselves from the assignments of everyday life and question their point, reason, value, etc. What is absurd, for Nagel, is that we ourselves are equipped for taking it, “without ceasing to be the person whose ultimate concerns are so coolly regarded.” (Nagel, 720) So for Nagel, the absurd is on a very basic level in light of this capacity to step back and take part in uncertainty; in reality, he stops barely shy of equating it with epistemological

Camus explanations of the Myth of Sisyphus, presented the concept of the absurd by outlining the beliefs that an individuals life has worth but only his live in a world that denies such worth to survive. Therefore, the absurdity in the statement, explains the fact of a clash between the orders through which an individuals mind hard for, likewise the lack of order that we as humans find in the world.

The bus was silent, no one daring to speak. We had just suffered the first loss in more than 10 years to one of the competing schools to make it to the state tournament for tennis. This bus ride home from the tournament in Green Bay gave me sufficient time to reflect on my matches and on the sport as a whole.

Even I have been guilty of this idea of what the meaning of my existence is supposed to

The myth of Sisyphus focuses on a king who was said to be deceitful and spiteful in nature. He was supposedly

What makes life meaningless? Taylor states that there are two characteristics of Sisyphus’s life that make life pointless. The main trademark is the purposelessness of his life. Taylor stresses the way that there is no good reason for the labor that Sisyphus is compelled to do because of the gods. I concur with Taylor that the purposelessness in performing this action demonstrates that his life is good for nothing. Perhaps, as specified in class, if his punishment brought about something advantageous. For instance, when Sisyphus rolled the rocks up the hill, rather than falling back down, they shaped into a beautiful architecture, which would give his life meaning. In the book, Taylor stated, “Activity... even long, drawn out and repetitive activity, has a meaning if it has some significant culmination… activity,” showing that possibly if the rocks did form a figure it could give meaning to Sisyphus’s life. The second characteristic that makes Sisyphus’s life meaningless is the idea of endless repetition of his punishment given by the gods. Taylor claimed that if the act of repetition would have led to an achievement or goal his life may not have been meaningless, yet Sisyphus’s labor did not lead to anything besides pointless repetition.

In a sense, Sisyphus’s acceptance of the repetitive acts as the ultimate defiance, allowing for the paradox of an open embrace of an assignment while defying the task simultaneously. Yet, the question at hand remains: how does Sisyphus’s mundane chore relate to Manfred’s existence as a man of constant sorrow? Though the two tales may seem as if no similarities exist, the two tasks the protagonists endure bear subtle comparisons. Manfred, sentenced to eternal guilt and days of never ending solace, pushes his own boulder each day up the massive hill only for it to spiral down to the beginning, just as Sisyphus had before him. Evidence of such a struggle exists throughout the text. Within his opening soliloquy, Manfred acknowledges his battle with guilt, stating, “My Slumbers – if I slumber – are no sleep, But a continuance of enduring thought... But Grief should be the Instructor of the wise; Sorrow is knowledge” (Byron. I. I. 3-4, 9-10). Using these small phrases of the soliloquy, Manfred’s acceptance aligns directly with that of Sisyphus and his respective acceptance of his own task at hand. Manfred attributes his sullen status to the fervent ability to gain knowledge by simply being sad, much like Sisyphus could possibly highlight his gain of muscle to the hard labor of boulder rolling. Each respective task has in some form strengthened the man being tested,

Life has no meaning if you don't have the urge to wake up the next morning to see the next day. Many people live their lives unhappy since they have no purpose or meaning to fulfill or satisfy their needs. Purpose to me is something to live for and something to look forward to in life. Without purpose and meaning in life there is no point of living at all. Recently in the existentialism unit we’ve been reading, I learned that without a passion to live, one’s life means nothing and is a waste of a soul. Based on the previous books I’ve read, I learned I am happy because I have things to look forward to in life and to wake up the next morning to enjoy the new day. Three elements that give me purpose and meaning in my life are my family, my

Albert Camus was a French-Algerian writer, who made an enterprising contribution to a wide range of issues in moral philosophy. Camus was a moralist as well as a political theoretician and stood in high public esteem not only in France but also all over Europe after World War Ⅱ. Albert Camus spent a dismal childhood with poverty and bereavement of his father’s death. In his school years, Camus became an avid reader, developing a lifelong interest in literature as well as profoundly opened his eyes to philosophy. Therefore, Camus principally dealt with philosophy themes in his work. In this short biography of Albert Camus, we will explore his philosophy of absurdism and its effect on Camus’s morality. Besides, the reader will be examining Camus’s influences on existentialism.