Albert Camus states in The Myth of Sisyphus that the only pressing philosophical issue, the one that must be addressed before all else, is suicide. All other issues, such as “whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories” (188), need only be addressed after a philosopher can justify his or her choice to continue living. It is certainly a reasonable argument. If humans constantly have the option to continue living or to off themselves, why is it we tend to choose the former? Camus states that “killing yourself amounts to... confessing that life is too much for you or that you do not understand it” (189), and it also reveals a dissatisfaction with the “uselessness of suffering” (189).
Suicide in the face of a situation that is too much to bear is easy to understand. Financial woes, physical or emotional abuse, and periods of depression, while all temporary problems, tend to elicit a more permanent reaction. Life becomes too much. The portion I find more interesting is suicide in the face of a life that we do not understand. Camus suggests that previously the question was “whether or not life had to have meaning to be lived” (193). Why continue pushing the stone up the hill if it has no meaning? Why not just commit suicide and escape from the futility of the routine? Yet Camus continues, saying that life “will be lived all the better if it has no meaning” (193). To me, this means (and please correct me if I'm mistaken) that our existence is more meaningful when we assign our own significance to it. If there is no inherent meaning initially present, it allows for more potential. We have no gods to please, no deities to impress; the only happiness we have to answer for is our own, and we create meaning in our life accordingly.
Yet it is easy to disappear into habits and routines, to grow tired of the endless succession of days. Some even take their own life due to boredom (namely George Sanders, whose suicide note actually read Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored). But the more days we spend in this world, the more meaning we can put into our life, and the more living we accomplish. Even if life grows dull, we're told to continue onward. Camus sums up his argument by saying that “the point is to live” (196). The point is to go out, accumulate experiences, assign our own meaning, and live.
I completely agree with your reason for life being better without meaning. In a life with presupposed meaning, certain expectations will already be set, regardless of how each individual feels about them. This does not require that each person assign his own values or lead his life in his own way. For example, I was raised as a Lutheran, taught that I am supposed to live to do God's work, follow a certain set of rules in order to accomplish this, etc. However, the meaning that was placed in these rules and the lifestyle as a whole was not one that I wanted to live for. I chose instead to believe that there is no inherent meaning or purpose in life, and that I will be the one to decide my values. I think this is just another exercise in free will.
ReplyDeleteSo basically, now that I've given my life story, I agree that individual signification is worth more than a universal meaning.
I agree with your assessment of Camus's point on why life is more meaningful if it has no meaning. I would remind you of Kierkegaard's similar point in Truth is Subjectivity. Both Kierkegaard and Camus point out the existential meaningfulness in something being my truth. The personal quality of choosing life is the only meaningful thing that can keep a person living. Like Camus says, a good [objective] reason to live can also be a good reason to die.
ReplyDeleteI agree that individual signification is by far the most important. If life is given an inherent meaning, then how are we existing as individuals? I think Eric is absolutely right; only we can give meaning to our lives, to accept anything outside of that is to grant ultimate power to an outside force. This would be considered by Camus as philosophical suicide.
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