1. absurdism chota kawamura

2. What is “the absurd” ? Philosophy of Absurdism Refers to the situation where one person tries to find meaning in life, but only finds nothing Absurd means “humanely impossible” in Absurdism “The absurd” is closely related to existentialism (existentialism arose from a way to find meaning in life)

3. Absurdism Philosophical thought of humanity trying to find meaning in life, but always failing due to uncertainty Uncertainty occurs because of the huge amounts of information in the world, and also the huge amounts of things humans do not know Can’t be sure of anything!

4. Three ways to solve end Absurdism 1 st way – to kill oneself This is bad because it only ends one’s own existence, and doesn’t actually solve the situation 2 nd way – to believe in another higher realm (religion) This is bad (according to Camus) because it is a “philosophical suicide”, since one gives up their search for meaning in life 3 rd way – to accept Absurdism Best solution (Camus) because one can gain freedom from religion in accepting that there is no meaning in life

5. Characterizing Absurdism Is there meaning in the universe (or God) ? Maybe, but humans will never know Can people themselves create meaning in life? Yes, but people will realize that it won’t have true meaning Can one pursue meaning in life? Yes, but as Camus says, humans will never find it Paradox – Camus says that there is meaning in the pursuit of finding meaning in life

6. Some major points God – Some find meaning in the belief of God Freedom – cannot be achieved, but closest way of achieving freedom is accepting absurdism Integrity – absurdists are guided by integrity, not morals

7. The Stranger Part 1 of the book Meursault lets things happen to him (no meaning in life) Funeral, Girlfriend just occur and doesn’t really affect him The murder is just another event that happens to happen to him (he isn’t guided by his morals) Part 2 of the book Meursault is presented with Christianity, but he rejects it (Camus’s view of no religion) Instead, he accepts his own responsibilities of killing the Arab (Absurdist’s integrity) Meursault finds happiness in discovering the indifference of the world (acceptance of “the absurd” in life)